Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1
English champions Arsenal had their captain Patrick Vieira sent off but fought back to earn a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in a pulsating London derby at Stamford Bridge today.
Gianfranco Zola gave Chelsea a 34th minute lead with a 40-metre free kick which bamboozled Arsenal keeper David Seaman, before Vieira picked up the eighth red card of his Arsenal career for a second booking in the 50th minute.
But Arsenal substitute Kolo Toure stooped to head home on the line in the 59th minute after Chelsea keeper Carlo Cudicini had parried a shot from Sylvain Wiltord.
The draw denied Chelsea revenge for last season's FA Cup final defeat by the Double winners and maintained Arsenal's unbeaten run in the league which dates back to last December.
Arsenal's clash lived up to its billing of being a tightly contested affair with the visitors fortunate not to be playing with nine men. Though Vieira's dismissal appeared somewhat harsh, Wiltord was lucky to be shown only a yellow card five minutes later when he shoved Chelsea midfielder Jesper Gronkjaer to the floor in an off-the-ball incident.
Aside from their determined opponents, Arsenal also had to cope with notable absentees Thierry Henry, the premier league's top scorer last season, Dennis Bergkamp and long-term injury victims Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg.
Earlier Bolton Wanderers beat Aston Villa 1-0 with a Michael Ricketts penalty in the second half in the other premier league match on Sunday.