Liam Rosenior's side fell behind in north London when Arsenal defender William Saliba headed home from close range following a corner. But we responded before the interval with a set-piece of our own, as a Reece James corner was flicked into his own net by Piero Hincapie.

The Blues carried the greater threat early in the second half, but Arsenal re-established their lead in the 66th minute: Jurrien Timber rising highest to convert another corner. Our task was made harder soon after, with Pedro Neto dismissed after being shown two yellow cards.

We did almost grab a share of the spoils as, in stoppage time, substitute Liam Delap turned the ball home from close range after an acrobatic attempt from Joao Pedro was saved. However, the offside flag was raised against the Brazilian and the game ended in defeat.

Battling hard

Rosenior made two changes to his Chelsea side. Mamadou Sarr was handed a first Premier League start in place of the suspended Wesley Fofana and Jorrel Hato was brought in at left-back, with Malo Gusto dropping down to the substitutes' bench.

The Blues started the brighter of the two sides. We controlled possession and searched for avenues through a disciplined Arsenal defence, but other than a Cole Palmer attempt that flew wide and a difficult chance for Sarr from a free-kick, we had little to show for our efforts.

Arsenal, in contrast, were at their most threatening when pressing high as we built possession. They only had one touch inside the Chelsea penalty area in the opening 15 minutes and a Martin Zubimendi shot that cleared the crossbar, plus a hopeful effort from the halfway line from Eberechi Eze, were their only attempts.

Set-piece opener

However, the Gunners' biggest threat this season has been from set-pieces, and in the 21st minute, a corner was delivered to the back post, Gabriel headed the ball back across goal, and Saliba diverted it home via a deflection off Sarr.

The pattern of the game didn't change, as the Blues continued to have the majority of possession. Yet Arsenal were content to drop back into their shape and frustrate the visitors.

It meant there was little goalmouth action for the hosts across the remainder of the half: a Declan Rice shot that flew well over was their only shot of note.

Hitting back

In the final minutes of the half, the Blues turned up the pressure – and it resulted in the equaliser. Neto first won a corner that James swung into the near post, the ball struck Rice's raised arm and Raya was forced to produce a fine reaction save. No penalty was awarded, though.

It mattered not as from the resultant corner, another near-post James delivery skimmed off the head of Hincapie and nestled in the net to the delight of the Chelsea supporters. It meant the game was level at the interval.

Searching for a second

After the restart, the Blues pushed hard to establish a lead. Enzo Fernandez came close, as the Argentine midfielder received possession from James, advanced to the edge of the box and fired a low effort toward the corner from 20 yards that Raya saved well.

Joao Pedro was then denied. James delivered another near-post corner, Trevoh Chalobah flicked the ball on and the Brazilian headed toward goal. Raya again reacted well to deny the Blues.

Another chance came and went. James again whipped an excellent cross into the area that Joao Pedro flicked on and Palmer was inches away from making contact at the back post.

Sucker punch

But, once more, Arsenal's set-piece prowess swung the game their way. Rice delivered the ball into the six-yard box and Timber was able to head beyond Sanchez.

It soon went from bad to worse for the Blues. Three minutes after being booked, Neto brought down Gabriel Martinelli to halt an Arsenal break, was shown a second yellow card, and a red soon followed. Twenty minutes remained.

Rosenior turned to his bench soon after. Gusto was brought on for Hato and Romeo Lavia returned to action for the first time since early November, replacing Andrey Santos.

Late fight

As the minutes ticked down, we tried to find a response, although only after Sanchez had done well to deny Eze.

There was an attempt from 25 yards from Moises Caicedo that whistled narrowly over the crossbar before, in stoppage time, substitute Alejandro Garnacho whipped a cross into the Arsenal box that was drifting into the far corner. Unfortunately, Raya stretched out his left hand and clawed the ball away.

A final opportunity was fashioned. A pass forward from Caicedo was flicked to Joao Pedro, whose acrobatic volley struck Raya. The Arsenal goalkeeper dashed back to his line to clear, but Delap turned in the rebound.

However, the offside flag was quickly raised and we were denied a late share of the points.

What comes next

It's a quick turnaround for the Blues, as we make the trip to the Midlands to face Aston Villa on Wednesday evening.

The teams

Chelsea: Sanchez; James (c), Chalobah, Sarr, Hato (Gusto 75) ; Caicedo, Andrey Santos (Lavia 75); Palmer (Garnacho 86), Fernandez (Delap 86), Neto; Joao Pedro
Chelsea substitutes: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Guiu
Goalscorers: Hincapie og 45+2,
Booked: Palmer 59, Hato 65, Neto 67, Fernandez 79
Sent off: Neto 70

Arsenal: Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie; Rice (Norgaard 76), Zubimendi; Eze, Trossard (Martinelli 56), Saka; Gyokeres (Havertz 76)
Arsenal substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Mosquera, Madueke, Jesus
Goalscorers: Saliba 21, Timber 66
Booked: Gabriel 75