Chelsea vs. Arsenal final score: Premier League result, updates, stats as London derby ends all square

Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Chelsea in a bruising Premier League affair at Stamford Bridge.

Both teams were coming off their respective Champions League successes over Bayern Munich and Barcelona in midweek. Chelsea's enterprising star was checked when Moises Caicedo was sent off for a reckless lunge on Mikel Merino before halftime.

Trevoh Chalobah made light of the numerical disadvantage when he headed Chelsea in front three minutes into the second half. Merino's fourth goal of the season levelled matters.

Both sides tried to find the winner in a physically draining affair, with Arsenal's greater scope to throw on attackers belatedly forcing Chelsea to hang on. But hang on, they did.

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Chelsea vs. Arsenal score

Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
Referee: Anthony Taylor

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Confirmed lineups:

Chelsea (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sanchez (GK) — Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella — James, Caicedo — Estevao, Fernandez, Neto —Joao Pedro

Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): Raya (GK) — Timber, Mosquera, Hincapie, Calafiori — Rice, Zubimendi, Eze — Saka, Merino, Martinelli

MORE: Chelsea vs. Arsenal prediction, lineups, odds, TV and bet builder tips for huge top of the Premier League table clash

Chelsea had much the better of a feisty first half hour, where referee Anthony Taylor brandished four yellow cards – three to Arsenal, one to the hosts – for which the recipients could have few complaints.

But Enzo Maresca's side were left with an uphill struggle when Caicedo plunged studs recklessly into Merino's ankle. Taylor initially issued a yellow card, but he had little choice but to upgrade after examining wince-inducing replays on the pitchside monitor.

Chelsea continued to perform with admirable enterprise, with captain Reece James and Enzo Fernandez both superb. And they hit the front three minutes into the second half.

Arsenal goalkeeper Robert Sanchez saved superbly when James' looping free-kick found Joao Pedro. From the resulting corner, Chalobah glanced home smartly at the near post.

The Premier League leaders struggled to create much of note but some wonderful wing play from Saka crafted Merino's equaliser with half an hour to play.

Chelsea vs Arsenal stats

Chelsea vs. Arsenal live updates, highlights, and commentary

Fulltime

It ends all square. Chelsea will be far happier with that result and they remain six points behind Arsenal despite playing the best part of an hour with 10 men after Caicedo's red card. Chalobah put them ahead, Merino levelled but Arsenal couldnb't find the winner. Mikel Arteta's side have still only lost once all season and lead Manchester City by five points at the summit.

90+4 mins: Too many cooks for Arsenal as Hicapie hangs up a cross that Timber takes off Gyokeres' head. The striker is, understandably, not best please.

90+1 mins: Four minutes added on. Arsenal pushing hard. Cheslea understandably look out on their feet.

88 mins​​​​​​: Tremendous save from Sanchez to deny Merino. Gyokeres launches himself at the loose ball and clatters into the Chelsea goalkeeper, who got there first. A painful one, a reckless one, but no malice. He gets a yellow card.

87 mins: Neto shimmies past his new mate Hincapie and eyes glory before lashing over from 25 yards.

84 mins: Madueke takes on Cucurella but runs out of pitch, to much merriment.

79 mins: Arsenal break up field but Saka blams another into the Shed End.

78 mins: Speculative effort from Delap after Arsenal half-clear a set piece. D'you know, that's not half bad. Catches it well but Rayaa deals with it.

74 mins: Rice floats a pass out to Saka, who has an opportunity to pick out Gyokeres or Merino. He scuffs it and Sanchez gathers.

72 mins: Saka cuts inside and eyes glory but that's way over. Here comes Gyokeres in place of Eze, who has been on the margins after his star showing in the north London derby seven days ago.

71 mins: Garnacho bobbing and weaving. Neto gets up well to a header at the far post but can't make a clean enough contact.

70 mins: Chelsea boldly leaving three players up field on an Arsenal corner. Sanchez comes out confidently to claim.

62 mins: Hincapie with a fine sliding tackle on Neto to concede a corner. He celebrates in the Portugal winger's face. Quite odd behaviour.

59 mins: GOOOOAAAAALLLLLL!!!! Mikel Merino!!!!

Arsenal all square as Merino heads home from close range. That's sublime play from Saka to make the goal, carrying the ball into a dangerous area and standing up a wonderful cross for the makeshift striker.

AND THERE'S THE RESPONSE. BUKAYO SAKA TEES UP MIKEL MERINO TO MAKE IT 1-1. Pic.twitter.com/S3li8vSsWb

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 30, 2025

57 mins: Madueke on for Martinelli, received in the pantomime style, while Zubimendi makes way for Odegaard. That probably means Rice at the base of the midfidld.

55 mins: Chelsea are bringing on the shy and retiring Liam Delap to calm things down.

54 mins: Chelsea look to counter and Lewis-Skelly, who was brought on because Calafiori had been booked, is booked for bringing down James.

48 mins: GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLLL!!!!! Trevoh Chalobah!!!!!

The 10 men lead. Chalobah makes a decisive glancing contact at the hear post it flies across goal and in.

TREVOH CHALOBAH RISES HIGHEST TO HEAD CHELSEA IN FRONT AGAINST ARSENAL. Pic.twitter.com/gFHaicRKxP

— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) November 30, 2025

47 mins: Floated delivery to the far post from James and Joao Pedro forces a fine save from Sanchez. Corner.

Kickoff: 2nd Half

We're back underway. Lewis-Skelly on for the booked Calafiori at left-back for Arsenal, while Garnacho replaces Estevao for the hosts. Gusto starts the half by hurling himself to the floor following an aerial challenge. Chelsea free-kick.

Halftime

Fernandez. Deep in Arsenal territory down the left. Timber goes down theatrically after being caught on the chest and not the face by the Argentina midfield. Taylor blows for halftime in the hope everyone might just grow up a bit. Arsenal have 11 men to Chelsea's 10 and the scoreline remains 0-0.

45+4 mins: Sanchez punches Rice's corner away and Chelsea settle into a period of possession that should see them to halftime, but do they want more? They do, you know. Estevao's near-post header is blocked before Gusto sends a second cross flying over the six-yard box.

45+1 mins: Fabulous save from Sanchez! Martinelli forced him to dive back across where his body weight was heading to paw out of the bottom left corner. 

45 mins: Sanchez claims a Rice corner and bowls out to Neto. Arsenal get back well to stop the counter. Rice gets his foot in on Gusto and Arsenal can come again. Into five minutes of stoppage time.

42 mins: Arsenal have the man advantage but Timber is the only member of their back four not on a yellow card. There will be more antics, you suspect.

40 mins: Hincapie catches Chalobah with a stray arm. That's a yellow card. The Chelsea defender is milking it quite blatantly to try and get things evened up. Arteta appears to be relaying a message to Merino that everyone calm down several notches. Taylor talking to captains James and Saka too.

38 mins: MOISES CAICEDO IS SENT OFF!  Taylor rules the challenge was one of excessive force that endangered Merino. Looking at the replays, it's very hard to argue.

Moisés Caicedo has been SENT OFF for this challenge on Mikel Merino 🟥 pic.twitter.com/02bxHYVYth

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 30, 2025

37 mins: Referee Taylor shows the yellow card but that's a short of holding pattern. He's checking the monitor to see if this needs upgrading to red.

35 mins: Oh dear, replays show Caicedo's studs plunged into Merino's ankle. VAR having a look and this might not end well for the Chelsea man, who is still down in pain.

34 mins: Caicedo and Merino collide and are writhing around quite dramatically. 

32 mins: Estevao jinking inside again. He passes up the shot this time and lays off to Fernandez, whose clip goalwards is watched all the way by Sanchez.

30 mins: Hincapie hesitates and Chelsea have the ball deep inside the Arsenal third. But Joao Pedro hesitates after picking the defender's pocket. He then overhits the pass to Fernandez. That's an opportunity wasted against an Arsenal; side that seldom make such errors defensively.

27 mins: James leads Calafiori a merry dance before being shoved over. That's another booking. Three of the four for Arsenal players and two of those from fouls drawn by James.

22 mins: Joao Pedro again drops deep to link things smartly. He lofts a pass through to Fernandez, who takes a sublime first touch before Arsenal close the door.

19 mins: Estevao cuts inside and sends a shot high and wide from range. The Brazilian teenager is clearly brimming with confidence, though.

18 mins: Estevao to Joao Pedro, whose cross isn't properly dealt with by Mosquera. The bouncing ball falls to Estevao but he's reaching for it and clatters way over. 

16 mins: Fernandez picks up the pieces from a Merino error in midfield. Estevao combines smartly with Neto, who is denied by a fabulous last-ditch challenge from Rice.

13 mins: The Blues half clear their lines, but the ball is worked to Saka in space. The Gunners winger thumps his shot from Eze's pass too close to Sanchez on his weaker right foot. Chelsea look to break, Mosquera scythes through Joao Pedro and that's booking No. 3. None of the recipients can have any complaints, to be perfectly honest.

12 mins: Rice is going to launch a long throw into the Chelsea box.

11 mins: Cucurella now with a meaty challenge on Saka. He's not especially close to the ball and that's an obvious booking. Arteta was furious about that one.

6 mins: Joao Pedro smartly wins a flick on to send Estevao scampering, Calafiori gets back well to avert the danger.

5 mins: Now Zubimendi sends James tumbling and is booked.

4 mins: An early tussle in that anticipated titanic battle between Rice and Caicedo. The Chelsea midfielder is sent to the floor, gets up and shoves Merino. Spicy.

Kickoff: 1st Half

Arsenal get us underway amid a crackling winter atmosphere.

5 mins before kickoff: The teams are in the tunnel. Here they come. It's almost go time at Stamford Bridge.

30 mins before kickoff: Noni Madueke starts on the bench against his former club. The England winger knows he could be in for a little bit of stick from the Stamford Bridge faithful.

It might be a little bit hostile; it might not be. But I am a professional footballer. I have played in loads of atmospheres. I don't know if anything will faze me. I will just be focused on the task. The fixture is not about me. The fixture is about Arsenal getting another three points in the league and being closer to the objective.

1 hour before kickoff: The big news from the Arsenal team sheet was William Saliba's absence. The France star joins his regular centre-back partner Gabriel on the sidelines.

🔴 𝗧𝗘𝗔𝗠𝙉𝙀𝙒𝙎 ⚪️

🧱 Hincapie partners Mosquera
💪 Calafiori in at left-back
⚡️ Martinelli on the wing

Leave it all out there, Gunners! 👊

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) November 30, 2025

1 hr 15 mins before kickoff: Cole Palmer's return for Chelsea comes on the bench, with Joao Pedro in to lead the line and Estevao and Pedro Neto getting the nod in the wide attacking positions.

The Blues. 🔵#CFC | #CHEARS pic.twitter.com/GaBXpW75yL

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 30, 2025

1 hr 40 mins before kickoff: Arsenal have passed a widely regarded "big week" in their season with flying colours. Tottenham were swept aside 4-1 in the north London derby before Mikel Arteta's men underlined their claims to be the best team in Europe right now by beating Bayern Munich 3-1. Beat Chelsea today and they will be seven points clear of Manchester City at the Premier League summit. Lose, and the Blues would be within three points heading into the midweek round of fixtures.

2 hours before kickoff. Hello and welcome to AllSportsPeople' live coverage of this afternoon's London derby from Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea vs. Arsenal kick off time

The Chelsea vs. Arsenal match kicks off in London, UK at 4:30 p.m. Local time.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:

Chelsea vs. Arsenal lineups, team news

Maresca made the surprise announcement that Cole Palmer  is ready to return following his groin injury, which was recently compounded by suffering a fractured toe at home.

The Italian tactician said Palmer was ready to start, but involvement from the bench feels more likely, especially in light of the good form his teammates have shown in his absence.

Estevao  is likely to remain in the XI following his stunning goal against Barca, leaving Maresca with decisions to make elsewhere in attack. 

Neto played at centre-forward in midweek but could make way for a more conventional option in the form of Joao Pedro.

Chelsea starting XI (4-2-3-1, right to left): Sanchez (GK) — Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella — James, Caicedo — Estevao, Fernandez, Neto —Joao Pedro

Chelsea subs: Jorgensen (GK), Acheampong, Tosin, Badiashile, Andrey Santos, Palmer, Gittens, Garnacho, Delap.

Leandro Trossard  hobbled off during the first half against Bayern Munich and misses out. Gabriel Martinelli  starts in his place after wrapping up the scoring against Bayern Munich.

Riccardo Calafiori  provided a superb assist for Madueke and dislodges Myles Lewis-Skelly  at left-back, with Piero Hincapie  returning at centre-back alongside Cristhian Mosquera as William Saliba joins Gabriel on the sidelines.

Mikel Merino  starts again at centre-forward but Viktor Gyokeres and long-term absentee Gabriel Jesus are back on the bench.

Arsenal starting XI (4-3-3, right to left): Raya (GK) — Timber, Mosquera, Hincapie, Calafiori — Rice, Zubimendi, Eze — Saka, Merino, Martinelli

Arsenal subs: Kepa (GK), Lewis-Skelly, White, Norgaard, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Madueke, Jesus, Gyokores.

Chelsea vs. Arsenal live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions: