Arsenal are sweating over injuries to Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice picked up in a feisty London derby against Chelsea, with Mikel Arteta doing little to allay concerns after the match.
The Gunners took the lead against Enzo Maresca’s outfit courtesy of a composed near-post strike from Gabriel Martinelli on the hour mark before a Pedro Neto long-range effort restored parity 10 minutes later.
The point steadied the ship for Arsenal after a run of poor results but the second half will have been tarnished somewhat after injury blows to two of the side’s most important stars.
Rice was a doubt before the match with a broken toe and seemed to hobble off on 71 minutes before England teammate Saka was substituted after a heavy tackle from man of the match Marc Cucurella.
Following the draw, Arteta issued a worrying update on the injuries suffered by the pair.
Mikel Arteta faces more injury headaches after his side’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Sunday
Declan Rice was a doubt ahead of the game and trudged off after Chelsea’s equaliser
Bukayo Saka also went down with an injury after a heavy tackle by Marc Cucurella
He said: ‘They don’t look very good to be fair. I don’t know (if long term) but they both couldn’t finish the game so not good.’
Arteta will not be the only one concerned over the duo’s fitness with their national boss Lee Carsley also needing the Arsenal stars to be fit for the international break.
The Three Lions have vital Nations League matches against Greece and Ireland coming up in what are the interim boss’s final two games before handing over to new manager Thomas Tuchel.
If Rice and Saka are judged to be unfit for the international fixtures, it might be good news for Arteta as it would give them two weeks to get fit for the Gunners’ next match against high-flying Nottingham Forest on November 23.
Arsenal might have received a boost after their captain Odegaard returned for the London derby but Arteta is still suffering injury headaches across his squad.
Defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori and Kieran Tierney all remain out of contention thanks to long-standing issues.
All are expected to be in with a chance, however, of giving the Spaniard a boost by returning after the international break.
The tense encounter on Sunday featured a high-quality battle between Saka and Cucurella on the flanks, which the Blues star ultimately came out on top in.
Marc Cucurella marked Saka tightly all game and a sturdy late tackle sent the winger flying
The Spaniard’s challenge proved the end of the afternoon for Saka who is now an injury worry
Captain Martin Odegaard returned from injury but Mikel Arteta still has problems with squad
Collecting the man of the match award, the former Brighton man told Sky Sports: ‘[Saka is a] top player, we play a lot of times against each other, big respect and I try hard to do my work.
‘A good battle and hopefully I can do more of this. I try to not give him space, be close to him always, he is a special talent so do my work and help my team by doing my job.
‘Today I gave the best of me and we got a point.’
Arsenal missed a late chance to take all three points in a stalemate which did neither team any real favours with both London sides stranded nine points behind leaders Liverpool.
William Saliba picked up the ball in an uncharacteristic left-wing position and squared it across the face of the box only for the stretching Leandro Trossard to deflect it wide and past his exasperated teammates queueing up behind him.
The much-hyped derby pitted a resurgent Chelsea side against an Arsenal outfit hoping for their first Premier League win in four but the opening period proved to be a turgid affair.
Kai Havertz thought he had given the Gunners a lead over his former team, celebrating enthusiastically after a smart finish only to have VAR judge him to have been in an offside position.
The second-half was slightly more open, particularly after Martinelli’s opener, and after Chelsea’s equaliser the ball was soon in the back of the net again.
Gabriel Martinelli fired Arsenal in front against Chelsea but the game ended in a 1-1 draw
Chelsea earned a point after a fine equaliser from former Wolves playmaker Pedro Neto
Kai Havertz shushed Chelsea fans after scoring a goal, which was eventually disallowed
Nicolas Jackson ran through on goal and produced a nerveless finished but even he knew he was yards offside, raising questions over why the linesman hadn’t flagged earlier.
Chelsea looked the more likely to score towards the end but Arsenal had the biggest chance of the lot through Trossard in the dying seconds.
After the match, Cucurella added: ‘Tough game, they play with same ideas for a long time but we performed well. Want to win but draw and need to keep going in this way.’
Neto, who saved a point for his new side through his first Premier League goal in a blue shirt, said: ‘In the end we wanted to win but had hard work in front of us, they are a good team, we aren’t as happy as we want to be but it’s a point.
‘Moments of the game I went to him when I should go and hold the ball when I should, it’s reading the game we did really well.
‘I think like Marc said we did really well and want to improve. Consistency is important part.
‘Really happy to help the team, this is a group that works really hard every day.’
