Stalemate in crunch London derby

Last season's Premier League champions hosted the FA Cup victors at Stamford Bridge in what promised to be a heavyweight clash on 'Super Sunday'.

The Gunners headed into the fixture with a slight inferiority complex after a disappointing start to the season, with the bookmakers strongly in favour of a home win.

In a game of such vital importance, intensity was of the essence from the start. As expected, it was Antonio Conte's men who got off to a brighter start, front three Morata, Pedro and Willian running riot every time they claimed the ball and ran at Cech's goal.

Arsenal attempted to play a sluggish passing game, with patient build-up to slow down a frantic opening minutes. However, Chelsea's high line of pressure made it very hard for the visitors to linger on the ball.

The Blues went from pacey breaks to superb passing football, claiming complete dominance over Wenger's team, who were unable to get close to the Chelsea players.

Morata, in an offisde position, sent a header wide before Arsenal broke in numbers to create a superb chance out of nothing. Iwobi set Bellerin free down the right wing and Welbeck could only direct his header wide of the post. It wasn't much, but it meant Arsenal were starting to find their feet.

Only a minute later, Bellerin was again released in a copycat chance. The Spanish wing-back pulled the ball back for Lacazette in the middle and the striker's low effort was pounced on by Courtois.

The match opened up with chances coming thick and fast at both ends. Fabregas pinged a sublime ball over for Pedro who was through on goal but, with Koscielny putting pressure on the striker from behind, Cech read it well to make a strong save.

Arsenal upped the pressure on the hosts, who struggled to cope when Wenger's team turned up the tempo in their play. Granit Xhaka fired a trademark thunderbolt strike from 25 yards that whistled inches past Courtois' post.

After a series of somewhat chaotic exchanges, Chelsea tried to restore their initial control with long spells of on the ball, but Arsenal were a constant threat as they continued on their rampant surge.

Towards the end of the first half, Arsenal were awarded the best chance of the game. Iwobi fed the ball through for Ramsey who danced past Azpilicueta and David Luiz into the box before smashing the ball against the lower part of the post. Lacazette tried to scoop in the rebound but sent his high volley straight into the stands.

The even match-up continued well into the second half as both sides continued to give it their all. Chelsea were once again on the front foot from the off with Willian firing and effort straight at Cech.

Bakayoko replaced Pedro, giving Chelsea more control in the middle of the park, and both sides turned most of their attentions towards their defensive ventures with the clock ticking.

Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard were both introduced with over 20 minutes to go as Wenger and Conte sought a touch of inspiration and brilliance to break the deadlock.

And the Gunners thought they had taken the lead when Mustafi found the back of the net. Xhaka delivered the free kick and the German defender headed past Courtois at the back post, but the linesman's flag was up as he wheeled away to celebrate.

At the other end, Hazard looked to dance his way towards goal before Cech stretched up high to save his shot. As the match entered its final stages, the high intensity turned to nerves with countless imprecisions hindering both sides' efforts going forward.

A reckless tackle saw David Luiz pick up a straight red card in the 87th minute, the defender sliding in on Sead Kolasinac with his studs up.

The points were shared at Stamford Bridge in what was quite possibly the most fair outcome, with the two combative teams providing a highly entertaining yet rather unprofitable London derby.