Arsenal threw away yet another chance to claw back ground in the title race… this was not a point gained as they slip nine adrift of Liverpool, writes OLIVER HOLT

The time added on at the end of the game had just ticked past the allotted five minutes. Martin Odegaard, the man Arsenal have missed so much, their creative force, was scheming one last chance on the edge of the Chelsea box.

He teased the home defence, patient even as the clock ran down. The ball was worked wide to William Saliba and his sidefooted cross ran across the six-yard box like an open invitation, an invitation that had a golden ticket inside it.

The invitation was for a return to the title race. Leandro Trossard flung himself at the ball but could only get a touch on it. The touch took it away from Kai Havertz, who would have tapped it in.

Havertz looked distraught and stared at Trossard in reproach. On the touchline, Mikel Arteta threw himself to the floor in despair and rolled over on to his back. The episode summed up Arsenal’s winter evening.

This was not a point gained for them. This was more ground lost. In a season that was supposed to represent their big chance of finally overhauling Manchester City, a season when City are faltering, this was a draw that left them nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea earned a point after a fine equaliser from former Wolves playmaker Pedro Neto

Sunday’s result left Arsenal – and Chelsea – nine points behind league leaders Liverpool

Sure, there were some reasons for them to be cheerful. Odegaard’s return was a huge boost and he improved them dramatically after two successive away Premier League defeats to Bournemouth and Newcastle, and their Champions League loss at Inter Milan.

But they had the advantage in this game and they threw it away. They led through Gabriel Martinelli and conceded a poor equaliser to Pedro Neto. And, in the position they are in, so far behind, they cannot avoid to lose leads against potential rivals.

And if Odegaard is back, then Arsenal fans were also subjected to the worrying sight of Bukayo Saka being caught late by Marc Cucurella ten minutes from the end and, unable to carry on, being forced to limp slowly along the touchline on the way back to the bench.

If City are faltering, then the statistics tell you Arsenal are, too. This was their fourth league game without a win and they go into the international break knowing that they are confined to the outskirts of a race they were supposed to be leading.

Chelsea? Well, they are yet to beat a big side under Enzo Maresca in the league but they are showing more and more signs of decoding the chaos that has gripped them for much of the last two years. They deserved their point, just. For them, it was a sign of progress. For Arsenal, it was not.

The two sides had begun the game locked on the same number of points. The reality of that was that Chelsea had made a better start to the season than expected and Arsenal had made a worse start than expected.

The eagerness to put that right was reflected in Mikel Arteta’s line-up. Not only was Odegaard, a symbol of what has been missing from this Arsenal team of late, brought back but Declan Rice played with a broken toe.

Kai Havertz overcame fitness doubts, too. Arteta knew this was a game his team had to seize before it was too late and their title hopes slipped away with the season barely a quarter of a way through. This was no time for compromise or caution.

Kai Havertz shushed Chelsea fans after scoring a goal, which was eventually disallowed

German Havertz was denied a goal against his former club following a VAR review for offside

Havertz later suffered a cut head and had to leave the field for treatment as he was bleeding

After being patched up with a bandage, Havertz was allowed to return to the derby action

Arsenal went 1-0 up on the hour mark courtesy of a goal from Brazilian wide man Martinelli

Chelsea still made the brighter start. David Raya had to produce a fine, leaping save to tip a swerving 25-yard drive from Cole Palmer over the bar in the third minute but then Arsenal established a measure of control.

Arteta’s side suffered a scare after 15 minutes, though. As Odegaard tried to shield a bounced ball, Moises Caicedo rushed towards him and barged him to the floor without attempting to play the ball. Odegaard took a blow to the ribs and lay motionless for a while before he dragged himself to his feet.

The game was finely balanced. Noni Madueke headed wide from a Palmer cross when he should have done better and midway through the half, Malo Gusto wasted an even better chance when Pedro Neto teased and teased Ben White before curling a beautiful cross into Gusto’s path. But he could not keep his header down.

Chelsea still have a nasty habit of giving the ball away cheaply at the back and they nearly gave Chelsea the lead when Levi Colwill played a pass straight to Saka. Saka’s shot was blocked but it rebounded to Gabriel Martinelli. Martinelli should have scored but hit his shot too close to Robert Sanchez, who stuck out his left hand and pushed it away.

Arsenal thought they had scored when a quick Rice free kick to Havertz caught Chelsea off guard. Havertz turned his man and squeezed a shot past Sanchez. Havertz, a former Champions League winner for Chelsea, sauntered away in front of the Matthew Harding Stand, putting his finger to his lips. No wonder Chelsea fans were particularly delighted when VAR ruled the goal out for offside.

But there was always a nagging suspicion that Chelsea might give a cheap goal away and, as the hour approached, they obliged. It was a goal made by Odegaard that reminded everyone what Arsenal had been missing.

The Arsenal skipper swapped passes with Thomas Partey on the edge of the Chelsea box and then drifted a lovely pass across the area to where Martinelli had escaped the attention of the home defenders and was waiting in far too much space.

Martinelli had time to control the ball and pick his spot. As his team-mates queued up in the centre for the tap-in, Martinelli clipped the ball past Sanchez at his near post and wheeled away to celebrate with the visiting fans behind the goal.

Martinelli’s goal was assisted by an excellent pass from captain Martin Odegaard (pictured)

Chelsea hit back to equalise 10 minutes after going behind when Neto scored with his left foot

Neto pictured celebrating his goal next to Gunners scorer Martinelli at Stamford Bridge

Bukayo Saka was unable to complete the full 90 minutes after suffering a late injury blow

Saka’s injury appeared to be a consequence of a collision with Chelsea No 3 Marc Cucurella

But Arsenal could not keep their lead. It lasted less than ten minutes. Enzo Fernandez, the most expensive substitute in the league, came on for Romeo Lavia and created the equaliser straight away.

This time, it was Arsenal’s midfield that lost concentration. They allowed Neto to run off them and when Fernandez found him, Neto took a touch and then rifled a fierce left-foot drive beyond Raya and into the bottom corner.

Arsenal were dismayed, They tried everything to get a late winner but they were hamstrung by the loss of Saka.

The final whistle was met with a few disconsolate boos from the Chelsea fans. For Arsenal, there was just the dull ache of another disappointment.