Marcos Alonso thought he had secured a stunning comeback for the Blues as his late goal looked to have sealed victory for the champions after Eden Hazard had levelled Jack Wilshere's opener
IN the end, it was a belter.
It is the sort of goal, deep into injury time, that will be talked about down the years at Arsenal.
That somehow Hector Bellerin’s stunning equaliser will transform Arsenal’s fortunes and take them into the top four again.
That their miserable Christmas form — three draws and a win at Crystal Palace — can be forgotten.
That this is the new Arsenal taking shape, reborn after showing incredible fighting qualities to somehow scrap out a draw.
They deserve a pat on the back — but that is where it ends.
This was a ridiculous game, played at a furious tempo between two teams with very different ambitions these days.
Chelsea thought they had won it, with Eden Hazard equalising from the penalty spot and Marcos Alonso nosing them in front six minutes from time.
Arsenal still had a big say in it.
They had been ahead, with the feel-good factor filling the nostrils of nearly 60,000 Arsenal fans when Jack Wilshere fired in.
It was a scorching strike, screeching Arsenal into a 1-0 lead the moment it pinged off his left boot 63 minutes in.
Arsenal, this being Arsenal, could not hold on to the lead.
Bellerin, thrown one way and then the other by Hazard, could not resist chopping him down.
Hazard, a touch subdued, equalised from the spot.
It sent poor old Arsene Wenger into meltdown, screaming into the face of fourth official Craig Pawson. Thing is, the referee got it right. This time.
Chelsea, their opponents in next week’s Carabao Cup semi-final, are durable, obstinate and damn well difficult to beat.
The biggest chance of the first half went Chelsea’s way.
Calum Chambers and Shkodran Mustafi managed to let a hopeful, looping ball drop behind them. Alvaro Morata raced clear, only the keeper to beat, to put Chelsea in front. Instead he missed, poking his effort hopelessly wide of Petr Cech’s left-hand post.
Arsenal responded, playing like a team with a lot of work to do to bridge that gap between Ropey League and Champions League football.
For a time they looked good for it.
Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Wilshere were the driving force as Arsenal got about these Chelsea boys.
Thibaut Courtois was a towering presence every time Arsenal got in behind Chelsea’s defence. It almost turned into his night.
He got a glove to Sanchez’s chance that rebounded off both posts, turning on to the paintwork before it rolled across the line and against the other.
Arsenal grew in confidence, with Ozil and Wilshere matching Cesc Fabregas and Hazard for the fancy footwork.
Ozil provided the next chance, with Gary Cahill sliding all over the penalty area when Alexandre Lacazette turned him in the area.
The striker swivelled, shooting at Chelsea’s goal, but Courtois came to the rescue again.
Chelsea turned a corner, with Cech tipping Tiemoue Bakayoko’s chance over the bar, after a clever combination between Hazard and Fabregas.
From the corner, Morata headed over the bar.
Both teams were coming to the boil, with Wilshere cautioned after taking Fabregas clean out. The Spaniard soon got him back and he, too, was booked.
Hazard came alive at the start of the second half, with Cech down to his right to claw away his effort.
From the follow-up, he got down to his left in time to flip Morata’s header away for a corner.
Ozil and Sanchez combined again to set up Lacazette for another big second-half chance. Instead he fluffed it, failing to get the solid connection that would have put Arsenal ahead.
Courtois stopped Ozil next, throwing out a leg to prevent Arsenal’s magic man putting them in front.
They got there eventually.
Wilshere got it, rifling his effort into the top corner after starting the move off on the edge of the area.
It did not last long. Chelsea got a penalty, awarded when Bellerin clipped the bottom of Hazard’s boot.
The Chelsea man scored from the spot, drilling his effort beyond Cech to level.
Alonso thought he had the winner as he turned in a Davide Zappacosta cross.
But Bellerin beat Courtois from distance to earn Arsenal a point. Somehow, they just about deserved it.
