Neto’s stunning equaliser secures point for Chelsea against Arsenal – five things we learned

Pedro Neto’s stunning equaliser secured a point for Chelsea against Arsenal after Gabriel Martinelli’s opener.

The Gunners are now without a win in their last four Premier League games, while the point sees Chelsea climb up to third in the table.

Here’s five talking points from the game…

Odegaard makes a difference on return to starting line-up

This was Martin Odegaard’s first start for Arsenal since August having been sidelined with an ankle injury. He returned to action in the mid-week Champions League defeat to Inter Milan and was thrust straight back into the starting 11 despite having played just a few minutes against Inter, and played a crucial role in the draw, picking out Martinelli with a fantastic pass looped pass for his team-mate to control and finish past Robert Sanchez to open the scoring. It was clear how much Arsenal have missed him based on his performance, providing that crucial link between midfield and attack.

Neto repays Maresca’s faith

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has a wealth of attacking options available to him, particularly in the wide areas, but has stuck with summer signing Pedro Neto and the Portugal international is really starting to show what he is capable of having now had a run of games in the team. He picked out Malo Gusto with a terrific cross in the first half, showing patience to eventually beat Ben White and pick out his team-mate at the back post, who should probably have scored. His big moment came on 70 minutes, however, when he found space outside the box to fire a brilliant effort low into the bottom corner and earn his side a point. Chelsea have spent a lot in recent years but Neto certainly looks like money well spent.

Saka kept quiet

It is clear to any team facing Arsenal that Bukayo Saka must be restricted if they are to have any joy, and Chelsea did a fantastic job of making sure the wide man could not impact the game in a decisive way. It was not always clean, with the Blues’ left-hand side of Marc Cucurella and Neto, and other Chelsea players, going in hard and fouling him at times, but it was effective, and Neto also deserves a lot of credit for his defensive effort in tracking back to double up on the winger. Saka hobbled off on 80 minutes after taking plenty of punishment and Arsenal fans will be hoping it is nothing serious.

Chelsea show they can challenge the top sides

Arsenal may have been out of sorts recently, but are certainly still one of the Premier League’s top teams so the fact Chelsea matched their London rivals will provide some encouragement for Maresca and his players. The Blues were beaten by Manchester City and Liverpool this season and while they did not secure the victory against Arsenal, a point and decent performance against them should be seen as a positive given where they have been for much of the past couple of years, and that they were thrashed 5-0 by the Gunners in April. There is still much to work on but the Blues look like a competent team again, making life very difficult for Arsenal and causing them problems at the other end too.

Arsenal could do with another strong option in attack

Arsenal’s squad is clearly very strong but if there is one area where it could be improved, adding another attacking option would probably be it. The Gunners have options off the bench in Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard and Raheem Sterling, who was unavailable for selection against his parent club, but none have quite lived up to the standards needed if Arsenal are to win a title this season. Improving the attacking depth should be the focus for Arteta and Arsenal heading into the January window and while quality attacking players do not come cheap, they need more contributions, whether it be signing a starter and demoting one of the current front three or adding a good back-up option.