Chelsea twice threw away the lead after Arsenal defender David Luiz was sent off on his return to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday, drawing 2-2 and wasting another chance to strengthen its hold on fourth place in the Premier League.
Cesar Azpilicueta looked to have secured the victory for Chelsea in the 84th minute but stand-in captain Hector Bellerin bent in Arsenal's second equalizer inside three minutes.
There was further concern for Chelsea with Tammy Abraham being helped off the field at the final whistle. The striker had struggled to continue playing after crashing into the pitchside advertising hoardings just before Azpilicueta netted following a corner.
Chelsea's Jorginho scores his side's opening goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge Stadium in London, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. (AP PhotoMatt Dunham)
It had been a calamitous start for Arsenal.
Shkodran Mustafi's sloppy backpass to Bernd Leno allowed Abraham to round the goalkeeper. Luiz tried to recover the situation but his option was to haul down the striker, leading to the red card and Jorginho netting from the resulting penalty in the 28th minute.
Chelsea couldn't exploit its man advantage and paid the price when N'Golo Kante's slip allowed Gabriel Martinelli to continue a run that began inside his own half before equalizing.
Chelsea's Jorginho, second right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's opening goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge Stadium in London, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. (AP PhotoMatt Dunham)
By eventually holding on for a point, Arsenal remained in 10th place — far from the top four it was once accustomed to finishing in. Chelsea is struggling to lock down a Champions League place, with Manchester United able to trim the gap to three points by beating Burnley on Wednesday.
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Chelsea's Jorginho, center, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's opening goal from the penalty spot during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge Stadium in London, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. (AP PhotoMatt Dunham)
Referee Stuart Attwell, left, shows a red card to Arsenal's David Luiz during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge Stadium in London, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020. (AP PhotoMatt Dunham)
Bukayo Saka scored his first penalty for Arsenal to complete a 4-2 victory over Chelsea on Wednesday that revived the push for Champions League qualification.
After Arsenal twice threw away the lead in the first half, Eddie Nketiah netted for a second time in the 57th minute and Saka converted the penalty in the second minute of stoppage time.
It was the first time Saka had taken a penalty since missing the decisive kick in England's European Championship final shootout loss to Italy in July 2021, which led to him being targeted with racist abuse.
Chelsea's Malang Sarr, (31), argues with Arsenal's Gabriel (6) during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in London, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP PhotoFrank Augstein)
This time the 20-year-old forward ended Arsenal's three-match Premier League losing streak to move the team level on points with Tottenham, only behind its north London rival on goal difference. With six games remaining, the neighbors are still to play each other.
Chelsea, which is five points ahead in third place with a game in hand, had to host Arsenal with about 6,000 seats empty because it was not allowed to sell new tickets for the game under the terms of the sanctioning by the British government of Russian owner Roman Abramovich.
Arsenal took the lead against the run of play as a long ball over the top was not dealt with by Andreas Christensen, whose under-hit backpass was latched onto by Nketiah in the 13th minute for his first league goal of the season.
Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah, left vies for the ball with Chelsea's Thiago Silva during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in London, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP PhotoFrank Augstein)
But Arsenal leveled inside four minutes after Nketiah gave away the ball and Timo Werner’s strike deflected off Granit Xhaka into the net.
Emile Smith Rowe re-established Arsenal’s lead in the 27th with a fine team goal, sweeping home a finish after impressive play from Xhaka and Martin Odegaard.
Chelsea drew level again in the 32nd with Cesar Azpilicueta getting on the end of Mason Mount’s ball into the box.
Chelsea's Malang Sarr, and Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta , argue with Arsenal's Gabriel (6) during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in London, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP PhotoFrank Augstein)
Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel reacted to the first-half display by replacing Andreas Christensen with the experienced Thiago Silva in defense.
But Nketiah scored again to send Arsenal in front for a third time in the 57th. Indecision in the Chelsea defense allowed the striker to nip in and finish low after Nuno Tavares’ cross had not been cleared.
It was Saka being dragged to the ground by Azpilicueta that led to the penalty that sealed the win that consigned Chelsea to three straight home losses in all competitions for the first time since 1993.
Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah, second left celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in London, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (AP PhotoFrank Augstein)
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