Arsenal analysis: Jack Wilshere makes his strongest statement yet but Gunners pay the penalty again in Chelsea draw

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James Olley4 January 2018

Hector Bellerin fired home deep into injury time to earn Arsenal a point in a dramatic London derby with Chelsea on Wednesday evening.

A frantic first half ended goalless but Jack Wilshere broke the deadlock shortly after the hour mark to kick off a manic finale.

Eden Hazard won and scored a penalty, going down under a challenge from Bellerin, before Marcos Alonso looked to have won the game five minutes from the end when ghosting past the right-back to beat Petr Cech.x

James Olley was at Emirates Stadium to assess the key talking points...

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Wenger and Arsenal pay the penalty again

This will do little to quash Arsene Wenger’s conspiracy theory. Wenger earned himself a Football Association charge on Tuesday for complaints to Mike Dean in the wake of Sunday’s 1-1 draw at West Brom for the award of a contentious penalty.

Earlier in the day, he spoke of the “concerning coincidence” at Arsenal being on the wrong end of questionable decisions at Stoke, Watford, Manchester City and the Hawthorns.

He will no doubt add this one to the list, although there did appear to be contact between Hector Bellerin and Eden Hazard.

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Arsenal’s top four hopes suffer a blow

With Manchester City away and gone at the top of the Premier league table, Arsenal cannot afford too many more teams to disappear into the horizon but this draw leaves them seven points behind London rivals Chelsea, who remain in third place behind Manchester United.

The consolation for Wenger is that a seven-point gap was not visible between these two sides on the pitch and Bellerin’s stoppage-time leveller will help maintain Arsenal’s often fragile confidence.

However, a five-point gap remains to Liverpool in fourth and the Gunners cannot afford it to get too much wider.

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Wilshere makes his strongest statement yet

Jack Wilshere has entered the final six months of his existing contract and although both sides want him to sign an extension, the club are yet to make him a formal offer. They had better get on with it.

Wilshere has worked his way back into Arsenal’s Premier League team after effectively graduating from Europa League and Carabao Cup football – this was arguably his sternest test yet and although there were moments when Chelsea bypassed him in the first half, the 26-year-old made an emphatic statement with a brilliant opening goal.

It was his first in the league since May 2015 and a timely reminder of his ongoing worth.

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Cech’s wait to break the 200 barrier goes on

Just three days after an 89th-minute penalty denied him a 200th league clean sheet at West Brom, Petr Cech was denied that milestone by another spot-kick, this time dispatched by Hazard before Marcus Alonso’s late strike.

Cech’s performance on the night was worthy of that achievement: he produced at least three excellent saves, firstly to deny Tiemoue Bakayoko before a fine double stop from Hazard and Marcus Alonso early in the second half.

The wait goes on but on this form, it surely won’t be too much longer.

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Chelsea’s second goal is a harsh lesson for Maitland-Niles

There is little doubt that Ainsley Maitland-Niles would have preferred his first-team breakthrough to come in a position other than left-back or left wing-back but he continues to show an impressive aptitude for the task at hand.

This was his sixth league start and the biggest of his career to date but he played with maturity beyond his years, not for the first time this season. That was until the final 10 minutes.

Davide Zappacosta did brilliantly to outmanoeuvre and outmuscle him before crossing for Alonso’s strike, a moment that represents a harsh lesson for the 20-year-old, who must not let this setback affect him in the matches ahead. Bellerin’s last-gasp equaliser will help

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