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Fiery London Derby Ends in Draw Amidst Cards and Physicality

A bruising⁢ encounter between Chelsea ⁤and arsenal at‍ Stamford Bridge ended in a 1-1 draw Sunday (30/11/2025),⁣ marked by a high volume of tackles, fouls, and ⁤disciplinary⁣ action. Trevoh Chalobah’s goal ​for Chelsea was quickly cancelled⁣ out by a ⁣strike from Mikel Merino.

Teh match was⁢ characterized by intense physicality from the ⁣opening whistle, escalating ⁤to the‍ point where referee⁤ Anthony Taylor issued one red ⁣card and one ‌yellow card in the first half ⁢alone, with Arsenal accumulating four yellows – a ‍total​ that would increase to six by‍ the final‍ whistle. The‍ contentious clash underscores ⁣the traditionally fierce rivalry between the two London clubs.

Early challenges set the tone, with Arsenal’s Martin Zubimendi delivering ‌a hard tackle on Reece​ James in the 5th minute, followed by a forceful challenge from Caicedo⁤ on Merino, resulting in the Chelsea player’s dismissal. Further ‌adding to the physical nature of the game, Chelsea defender Piero Hincapie elbowed Chalobah before‌ halftime, leaving the Chelsea player with a facial bruise. In the second half, Viktor Gyokeres collided with ‌Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez while challenging for the⁣ ball.

“This is a real London derby.⁢ Very‌ intense, from the start it felt like every duel, every action, had meaning. Lots of restarts, lots of free kicks, stoppages, ⁤lots of yellow cards, the game wasn’t very smooth,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, as quoted​ by athletic. “But after the red card, we wanted to calm the game down.We‌ didn’t manage to ⁣do that. We⁣ had more yellow cards, and the players‍ were constantly targeted to try to balance the numbers.In the first half, we⁢ said, ‘Okay, let’s stop for a moment. Let’s do ⁣what we have to ‍do’.”

Arteta continued, acknowledging his team’s opportunities despite ⁣the chaotic flow. “We managed to get some good moments,without too much momentum,scored a ‌great goal. And⁢ after that, we had two‌ or three big ⁣chances, but‍ we lacked certain details.”