Arsenal would surely have taken a draw beforehand, against a Chelsea team that have emerged as surprise title rivals in recent weeks – adn especially when they realised they had to play without William saliba, who injured himself in training on Saturday.

It was a different story when,in the 38th minute,Chelsea were reduced to 10 men after Moisés Caicedo’s X-rated challenge on Mikel Merino. It was one of those that made you wince upon each replay,the stand-in Arsenal striker fortunate to emerge unscathed.

It was Chelsea’s sixth red card of the season in all competitions – not including the one for the manager, Enzo Maresca, in the win against Liverpool in October. Now Arsenal had to be thinking about all three points – a result to restore their seven-point advantage at the top of the table.

It did not work out like that. Chelsea had been in fire-breathing mood at the outset. Perhaps it was part of the reason why Caicedo overstepped so grievously. And they rocked Arsenal when Trevoh chalobah looped home a header from Reece James’s corner at the start of the second half. If James was the standout individual, it was an excellent team performance, a continuation of the vibes from the Champions League dismissal of Barcelona here last Tuesday.

Arsenal had to react, and they did. Merino scored the equaliser, a tribute to his own tenacity as much as anything else. And it was him who almost nicked the win towards the end of regulation time, his low shot well saved by Robert Sánchez. The Chelsea goalkeeper jumped up to block bravely on the rebound from Viktor Gyökeres, on as an Arsenal substitute.

Brighton vs. Arsenal: Key Moments

Estêvão scored from eight yards. Earlier, Declan Rice made a crucial tackle on Neto inside the penalty area. Shortly after, João Pedro hesitated after a slip by Hincapié, needing to shoot immediately.