Arsenal pressed for a winning goal at the end – a comeback Viktor Gyökeres could have decided it – but the result stood.
Arsenal lead the Premier League by five points, ahead of Manchester City and six ahead of Chelsea.
Chelsea's Moisés Caicedo completely missed a tackle in the 38th minute and put the spikes in Arsenal's Mikel Merino.
Red after VAR review
The referee gave a yellow card, but after VAR review he overturned the red card.
Despite that, Chelsea started the second half with a bang when Trevor Chalobah headed in 1–0 from a corner kick from Reece James.
But the numerical superiority paid off for Arsenal and Mikel Merino headed in the equalizer eleven minutes later after Bukayo Saka's perfect cross.
Viktor Gyökeres made a comeback after injury and was replaced in the 72nd minute.
He could have been a hero in the final minutes. Mikel Merino's shot was saved by Robert Sanchez – Gyökeres rushed forward on the rebound, but the Chelsea goalkeeper just managed to grab the ball before the Swede plunged into him.
No goal – and instead a yellow card for the Swedish attacking star.
United won
Manchester United broke Crystal Palace's long unbeaten streak at Selhurst Park after turning a 0–1 deficit into a 2–1 victory.
The home team took the lead on a penalty through Jean-Philippe Mateta before the turnaround came in the second half.
Joshua Zirkzee equalized with his first goal in a year and then Mason Mount made it 2-1 on a free kick that went straight through the home team's disorganized wall.
United, who took their first win at Selhurst Park since 2020, moved past Crystal Palace in the table and into sixth place.
