Arsenal and Chelsea held in bore draw

It was inevitable really wasn't it. A scoreless draw against a Chelsea team who never really had their sights on winning the game. Such was the result that John Terry came out afterwards and said all they were looking to do was ensure we dropped points. Of course as they so often do in these big games, they hold themselves well and ggt a result. Arsenal still remain 10 points off Chelsea but if there was any hint of a challenge from Arsenal that has been severely dented by the Blues who can now win the League next weekend providing they beat Leicester in mid-week. Despite the lack of goals it was a good performance from Arsenal though who looked far more comfortable this weekend with the team selection differing from the one at Wembley. Ospina, Bellerin and Monreal returned whilst Mertesacker was fit despite an ankle injury last weekend. Olivier Giroud meanwhile came in for Welbeck as the rest of the team was unchanged.

Hector Bellerin was impressive at right back.

The game was one of two halves, but not in a sense that one dominated the other in each 45 minutes. It was more of a matter of how the game panned out. The pace and intensity of the match early on was one of the quickest I've seen in recent times. It was end to end, free flowing and the passing was extremely fast. The second half was like a different game from the first half though and it was in stark contrast. Despite us pushing hard in the final five minutes for a winner it was a dull and slow second 45 minutes of football. In the first half we moved the ball quickly going forward but in the second we never really got going until we introduced pace into the game in the final quarter of the match.

The game was pretty much set-up for a 0-0 draw from the first whistle, it was inevitable really but what we did do well was restrict them when they got forward. Chelsea were very hard to play against; proving resolute and strong in defence. Such was the importance for them to come away with a result that they celebrated a scoreless draw. It merely summed up a Jose Mourinho team. They were pretty boring to watch and in all honesty we really should have won the game. We didn't quite do enough to grab the win though but neither did Chelsea. Therefore a draw was merited but it was a frustrating result against a team we just can't seem to beat.

Previously against the big sides we've had chances early on that have potentially swung the game which made defeats in the past bitter hard to swallow. However today there wasn't really a moment where the game hinged on a specific chance in front of goal. We did have our chances, but then again Chelsea had two shouts for a penalty. Whichever team you support you're bound to have conflicting opinions but nevertheless none were given. Oscar had two shouts waved away, Fabregas was booked for diving on a hard return to the Emirates with plenty of boos, whilst fellow Spaniard Cazorla had a shot blocked by the arms of Cahill inside the area.

Both sides defended extremely well though and John Terry and Laurent Koscielny who in my opinion have been the best two centre-halves in the division this season were at the heart of the 0-0 draw. Koscielny sweeped brilliantly throughout whilst Terry was first to every ball, whether it be clearing the ball away at the near post or heading clear. Chelsea didn't cause a huge amount of threat going forward but when we came forward their defence dealt with it fairly easily.

What was most frustrating for us was that when we got into good positions in the first half we seemed to make the wrong final decision when a chance could have arisen. Alexis Sanchez was probably our brightest spark up top but even he made the wrong decision on occasion. We were at our best when we moved the ball quickly but our best chances didn't fall until the final minutes of the game. Danny Welbeck and Theo Walcott came on late on which showed Wenger was willing to go for it for a change. They added something we hadn't had all game; an option in behind. It was Welbeck who should have scored to win the game though. Monreal got to the byline and squared the ball towards the Englishman but somehow he failed to make any meaningful contact. That was before Cazorla had skewed an effort on his usually reliable weaker foot wide with 15 minutes remaining. For Giroud though it was a game of little chances and he proved a very isolated figure as he has been in recent weeks. Saying that though his presence up top was important and was utilised well when we looked to build an attack.

Our performance, although better than last week against Reading was similar in a few ways when we went forward. Again Mesut Ozil was at the heart of most things when we got the ball in the central areas but he wasn't helped by the lack of movement in the wider areas. Again Aaron Ramsey was playing on the right but he drifted in far too centrally. When he did find space out-wide though we looked threatening and direct. The Welshman once more had a fairly average game but did show some brilliant touches and brought others into the game well.

One of the players Aaron Ramsey often brought into play was Hector Bellerin who as usual was a threat down the right and tracked back well. He also denied a probable goal by heading clear after Oscar had lobbed Ospina. The progression he's shown since the beginning of the season is remarkable. In my opinion his rise has been similar to that of Francis Coquelin who himself had a good game again. Last season Bellerin was playing in the Championship for newly promoted Watford but now he's one of the best young talents in the Premier League. Although he isn't as solid as Debuchy in defence he typifies what a modern-day full back is and in an Arsenal side that love to go forward he's becoming ever more important.

This result won't have any bearing on what will happen this season but it does offer encouragement for 2015/16 with Arsenal looking to build into the new campaign and really challenge for the title. Next up for the Gunners is a trip to Hull City which isn't until Monday 4th May. A break of 8 days which hopefully won't upset the rhythm of the team as we look to continue this unbeaten run we're on and make second place our own.

The team's line-ups:

Arsenal: Ospina, Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal, Coquelin(76), Cazorla, Ramsey, Ozil, Sanchez, Giroud(83).
Subs: Szczesny, Debuchy, Gibbs, Flamini, Wilshere, Walcott(83), Welbeck(76).

Chelsea: Courtois, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Azpilicueta, Matic, Fabregas(90), Ramires, Willian(90), Hazard, Oscar(45).
Subs: Cech, Filipe Luis, Zouma(90), Mikel, Loftus-Cheek, Cuadrado(90), Drogba(45).

My Arsenal man of the match: Hector Bellerin

Referee: Michael Oliver.
Attendance: 60,066.