Furious Mikel Arteta slams his Arsenal players for their ‘unacceptable’ 1-1 draw with Chelsea… and reveals his ‘biggest fear’ in the title race after slipping NINE points adrift of Liverpool

Mikel Arteta blasted his Arsenal side for letting another lead slip in the Premier League after a 1-1 draw with Chelsea, ranting that it was ‘so poor’ not to seal victory at Stamford Bridge. 

The Gunners took the lead thanks to a thumping near-post finish from Gabriel Martinelli after the Brazilian was found at the far post by returning captain Martin Odegaard. 

It took just ten minutes for Chelsea to restore parity thanks to a mesmerising long-range effort from summer signing Pedro Neto.

Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard missed a chance in the dying seconds to clinch victory, stretching in vain to connect with a William Saliba cross, but the visitors had to settle for a point.

And Arteta was less than pleased in the aftermath, slamming his players for failing to hang on to their advantage after doing the same against Liverpool two weeks ago.

The Gunners let a lead slip once again after doing the same against Liverpool in October

Arteta also said he was ‘praying’ to have a ‘fully physically equipped’ team after Bukayo Saka picked up an injury

He told Sky Sports: ‘I think we dominated them, we were the better team in many phases and situations in the game and after going ahead, very disappointed in the way we conceded. It was so poor. It is not our standards and we don’t accept.

‘Really proud, but at the end we are here to get the three points and we didn’t. It is a second phase set piece and we were disorganised. We don’t reorganise quick enough and you can’t allow the pass that way.

‘You need the quality of Neto to do it but our standards were not good enough. They are all disappointed as a team. I’m very proud of the team with how they reacted. We wanted the three points and we didn’t get them.

‘You could see everything was flowing but again it is about winning. We have a clear vision how we can evolve the team. What we find out is that we have to change something big because we have problem after problem.

‘My biggest fear is physically to get players at their best for 90 minutes. With that I’m fully confident we will have a good season.’

The stalemate did neither side any real favours and leaves both of them nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool with just 11 matches played.

When asked about the nine point gap to Liverpool, Arteta replied: ‘There’s nothing that we can do about that. What I’m praying is that after the international break we have the team fully physically equipped.

‘That they are available and that they are fit, because, it’s been a nightmare for eight weeks. 

Marc Cucurella marked Saka tightly all game and a sturdy late tackle sent the winger flying

Declan Rice also trudged off the pitch at Stamford Bridge as Arsenal’s injury concerns mount

Captain Martin Odegaard returned from injury but Arteta still has problems with his squad

‘Doubt after doubt, issue after issue, not only with the ones that are not able to play, but with the ones who are able to play only for certain moments and not able to play.

‘So I’m just asking that, because the desire the team has and how much we want it there’s no question. It’s going to come. We just need that on our side to be more consistent.

‘When it gets nasty, show your teeth and show how much you want it. When it’s Disneyland it’s very easy. Everybody’s next to you, telling you how beautiful you are.

‘When it gets dark and difficult and everybody’s questioning it, that’s when I want to see people. I’m looking around.’

To add insult to injury for Arteta, Declan Rice seemed to hobble off on 71 minutes before England teammate Bukayo Saka was substituted after a heavy tackle from man of the match Marc Cucurella.

The Gunners boss said: ‘They don’t look very good to be fair. I don’t know (if long term) but they both couldn’t finish the game so not good.’  

Arsenal might have received a boost after their captain Odegaard returned for the London derby but Arteta is still suffering injury headaches across his squad.

Defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu, Riccardo Calafiori and Kieran Tierney all remain out of contention thanks to long-standing issues.

Gabriel Martinelli fired Arsenal in front against Chelsea but the game ended in a 1-1 draw

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

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

All are expected to be in with a chance, however, of giving the Spaniard a boost by returning after the international break.

The much-hyped derby pitted a resurgent Chelsea side against an Arsenal outfit hoping for their first Premier League win in four but the opening period proved to be a turgid affair.

Kai Havertz thought he had given the Gunners a lead over his former team, celebrating enthusiastically after a smart finish only to have VAR judge him to have been in an offside position.

The second-half was slightly more open, particularly after Martinelli’s opener, and after Chelsea’s equaliser the ball was soon in the back of the net again.

Nicolas Jackson ran through on goal and produced a nerveless finished but even he knew he was yards offside, raising questions over why the linesman hadn’t flagged earlier. 

Chelsea looked the more likely to score towards the end but Arsenal had the biggest chance of the lot through Trossard in the dying seconds.