Gunners hold Chelsea to a draw

Chelsea 1 Arsenal 1:A stunning goal by Michael Essien preserved Chelsea's unbeaten league record under Jose Mourinho and cut Manchester United's lead at the top of the Premiership to eight points.

Arsenal had looked set to become the first side to beat the champions since they last achieved the feat in February 2004 when Matthieu Flamini put them ahead in the 78th minute.

But Essien rescued Chelsea with a 35-yard thunderbolt six minutes from the end and the home side were unlucky to finish on level terms when they twice hit the woodwork in stoppage time.

The first half surprisingly failed to yield a goal as Chelsea were denied an advantage by a goal-line clearance from Cesc Fabregas and Jens Lehmann's left-hand upright.

A quarter of an hour passed  before either side managed to produce a shot on target.

It came from Chelsea's £30million striker Andriy Shevchenko, a player still not regarded by Mourinho as one of his 'untouchables'.

But the Ukrainian tested Arsenal's Lehmann with a powerful 20-yard drive which the German goalkeeper dealt with easily.

It was to spark a period of domination which almost brought Chelsea the lead.

German midfielder Michael Ballack gave Lehmann some real cause for concern when his right-foot shot fell inches the wrong side of the post.

But in the 17th minute Arsenal had the woodwork to thank for keeping them on level terms when Frank Lampard's shot bypassed the flatfooted Arsenal keeper and rebounded off the post.

A minute later Ballack sent a right-foot drive inches wide of the German goalkeeper's right-hand upright. The England midfielder almost capitalised on the rebound but his shot bounced safely into the arms of Lehmann.

Arsenal has shown some neat touches in midfield with the busy Alexander Hleb always looking for an opening and Robin van Persie taking up some clever positions.

It was the Dutchman who almost surprised Hilario with an angled shot that flashed beyond the Portuguese keeper's post in the 21st minute.

Moments later the game began to get a little tempestuous when Cole was booked for bringing down Hleb, to the fury of Mourinho and his assembled cohorts in the dugout.

The ensemble were in action again seconds later when referee Wiley refused to book Fabregas for a tackle on Didier Drogba.

Arsenal escaped again in the 38th minute when Fabregas was on hand to clear off the line after Lehmann had failed to deal adequately with a corner from Lampard.

When the Arsenal keeper dropped the ball at the feet of Essien, the Ghanaian international fired it towards the bottom corner only to see Fabregas clear his lines.

In the 63rd minute tempers flared again when Lehmann pushed Drogba and the Ivorian striker returned the favour. The outcome was a booking for both players.

Mourinho sent on Shaun Wright-Phillips and Arjen Robben for Geremi and Shevchenko in the 66th minute and the latter's introduction sparked fresh life into the champions.

Four minutes later a poor pass from Philippe Senderos was intercepted by Robben who ran on to despatch a left-foot shot that Lehmann did well to keep out at the second attempt.

But Chelsea paid for their wastefulness when Flamini put the Gunners ahead in the 78th minute.

The Arsenal midfielder cleverly exchanged passes with Hleb on two occasions before sending a shot into the bottom corner.

The goal stung Chelsea into action and Drogba twice failed to supply the required finish before Essien despatched a thunderous right-foot drive in the 84th minute to level matters.

But there was still more to come with Chelsea twice hitting the woodwork in injury time — first Essien slammed the ball against the bar from two yards out and Lampard hit the inside of the post after Lehmann had spilled Robben's shot.