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As it happenedended

Chelsea vs Arsenal - as it happened: Arsene Wenger's men hold 10-man Blues to goalless draw

Re-live all the action from Stamford Bridge

Sunday 17 September 2017 06:17 EDT
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(Getty)

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Chelsea host rivals Arsenal today as Antonio Conte’s men look to continue their winning ways after losing their opening fixture of the season to Burnley.

Gary Cahill is expected to return to the side having served out his three-match suspension though Danny Drinkwater remains sidelined with a calf injury.

Arsenal will be bidding to build upon last week’s convincing win against Bournemouth. Arsene Wenger’s side will be without Theo Walcott who sustained a calf problem in the Europa League.

What time is it?

Kick-off is at 1.30pm on Sunday 17 September at Stamford Bridge.

Where can I watch it?

Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League will be broadcasting the game. Coverage starts at 12.30pm. Or, follow live updates from our live blog above.

It’s a big game for?

Arsene Wenger. After a shaky start to the season, the Arsenal manager could really do with a morale-boosting win here at the Bridge today. Their form on the road against their top-six rivals suggests otherwise but football has a knack of throwing up surprises and Wenger will be confident his team could snatch a result against Conte’s Blues.

Wenger does not believe Arsenal struggle in their biggest away matches
Wenger does not believe Arsenal struggle in their biggest away matches (Getty)

Player to watch?

Eden Hazard. Who else? The Belgian has fully recovered from a fractured ankle and, although he starts on the bench once again, there's no doubt he'll be brought into the fray at some point. His home performance against Arsenal last season was a sight to behold so expect the player to be looking to repeat those feats.

Hazard is set to start against Arsenal
Hazard is set to start against Arsenal (Getty)

Head-to-head?

Arsenal 1 Chelsea 1, FA Community Shield, August 2017

Arsenal 2 Chelsea 1, FA Cup, May 2017

Chelsea 3 Arsenal 1, Premier League, February 2017

Form?

Chelsea: WWWWL

Arsenal: WWLLW

Odds?

Chelsea to win: 4/5

Draw: 3/1

Arsenal to win: 7/2

32 mins: Granit Xhaka is out to prove that he's more than just a yellow card machine. The Swiss midfielder takes aims from 25 yards but blasts his effort into the advertising hoarding just wide of the right post. I don't know what he's got against Sure deodorant.

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:04

35 mins: Like love, sport hurts.

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:08

37mins: Arsenal win a free-kick in a dangerous position to the left of Chelsea's penalty area after Welbeck and Ramsey cleverly combine. The delivery isn't quite as smart though with Morata comfortably heading the set-piece behind. The visitors don't threaten with the corner either, but are helped when Moses makes a mess of getting rid. The miscontrol allows Koscielny a moment to see his name up in lights, a dream that dies a second later when he blazes his effort high over the crossbar.

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:10

41 mins: Ramsey hits the post! And Lacazette blazes the rebound wide! They were the best two chances of the game so far, but Arsenal somehow failed to take either. The initial effort came from an opportunistic run into the box by the Welsh midfielder that he never truly looked in control with but, as he stumbled past David Luiz, it looked on. Ramsey's toepoke, however, clanged off the base of the right post, returning to Lacazette five yards out. Off balance, the French striker reacted with an awkward effort that flew inexplicably wide.

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:12

45 mins: Two minutes of injury time are signalled as Petr Cech is forced to take a ridiculously overhit backpass on his chest. Don't panic though, the goalkeeper is still the coolest man inside Stamford Bridge, even long after he left.

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:18

HALF-TIME - CHELSEA 0 ARSENAL 0:

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:18

SECOND HALF KICK-OFF: Chelsea make a half-time change with Tiemoue Bakayoko replacing Pedro. Whether it's a substitution partially enforced because of the knock the Spaniard took in the first half or not is unclear, but what it will surely do is add some stability to a midfield that was given the runaround by Aaron Ramsey and co. for large parts of the opening 45 minutes. 

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:33

49 mins: That midfield isn't looking too solid at the moment as Alex Iwobi bursts through it to put Arsenal in a promising position. However, the ball is soon played into the path of Grant Xhaka, who slows the move down so much that it actually comes to a standstill.

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:41

52 mins: It's time again for this season's hot topic! David Luiz has just been yellow carded by Michael Oliver after his attempted overhead kick connected with the head of Koscielny in the Arsenal box. The referee blew up immediately as the French defender hit the deck amid concerns for the player's condition. Thankfully, the Frenchman soon sat up and proved himself able to continue, but even his Arsenal teammates appeared to think that the Chelsea defender's punishment was a harsh one. It will provoke plenty of post-match talk.

Fun, isn't it?

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:47

59 mins: Chelsea are enjoying plenty of possession. I say enjoying, but that might be stretching it considering their inability to do anything mildly entertaining with it.

Sam Dymond17 September 2017 14:49

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