Chelsea’s Luiz sees red in Arsenal stalemate
LONDON: Chelsea defender David Luiz was sent off for an ugly foul on Sead Kolasinac as Arsenal finally emerged unscathed from a trip to Chelsea with a 0-0 draw against the champions yesterday.
The Brazilian saw red in the closing minutes at Stamford Bridge and he could have no complaints about his dismissal after lunging into a crude two-footed challenge on Arsenal defender Kolasinac.
It was the third sending-off for a Chelsea player in their last three meetings with Arsenal.
Victor Moses got his marching orders in last season’s FA Cup final, while Pedro was dismissed in the Community Shield.
The Luiz flashpoint — Chelsea’s fourth red card this season — was the most memorable moment of a hard-fought London derby that was high on perspiration but low on inspiration.
“We have great respect for officials, but it is strange to finish a third game in a row against Arsenal with 10 men,” Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said.
“You need to see what happened before the tackle.”
After losing on their last five visits to Chelsea, Arsene Wenger’s side had the better of the few clear-cut chances.
But Danny Welbeck, Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette all squandered good opportunities to hand Arsenal their first win at the Bridge since October 2011.
Luiz’s moment of madness came too late for Arsenal to capitalise on their numerical advantage, so they had to settle for a first clean sheet at Chelsea since 2005.
“It was about mentality and a response from our last away game. We could have won it. It was an intense game,” Wenger said.
It was another frustrating encounter with Arsenal for Conte’s men, who were beaten in both the FA Cup final and the Community Shield.
Arsenal weathered an early storm before Welbeck wasted a golden opportunity when Hector Bellerin’s cross picked out the unmarked forward, who couldn’t adjust quickly enough to keep his header on target.
Wenger’s men threatened again when Ramsey’s pass left Marcos Alonso isolated and put Bellerin in behind the Chelsea defence.
Bellerin crossed low for Lacazette, but the France striker’s shot was too close to Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Arsenal were sweeping forward with real purpose and Kolasinac tested Courtois with a stinging drive that the Belgian parried away.