Drab Derby Draw

Arsenal missed the chance to reclaim second place after recording their first draw of 2015 with a goalless stalemate against leaders Chelsea.

The Gunners knew victory would put some pressure on their London rivals as well as see them overtake Manchester City in the table. The result at the Emirates means Arsenal are level on points with City, albeit with a game in hand, and 10 points behind Chelsea, who can seal the title with victories in their next two matches.

Despite what in large parts was a positive display from the hosts, their manager Arsene Wenger has now gone 13 games without a win against Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho. But it could have been different had Arsenal been better with their use of the ball in the final third.

The hosts started the game strongly and performed as if they knew they owed Chelsea one, but for all their endeavours the Gunners could not find that all important goal. I couldn't help but feel like it was two points dropped at the final whistle. It was bizarre seeing Chelsea celebrate a goalless draw in the manner they did but with the title edging ever close nobody can really judge them too much for doing so.

Before kick-off a minutes silence was observed to mark the 30th anniversary of the Valley Parade fire disaster in Bradford. Once the action got underway there weren't too many clear-cut chances but this London derby wasn't short of drama with referee Michael Oliver having to deal with as many as four penalty appeals in the first half alone.

Oscar went down under a challenge from Hector Bellerin but nothing was given and the Chelsea faithful were again left annoyed at not being awarded a spot-kick later in the half. Oscar was again in the thick of the action as he beat David Ospina to Cesc Fabregas' ball over the top. The Colombian goalkeeper appeared to clatter into the Brazilian but Oliver again waved away the penalty appeals from the visitors. While Oscar was still appealing for a penalty Bellerin headed the ball off the line to prevent a goal. Chelsea saw a third penalty appeal turned down when Fabregas, playing against the club he left in 2011, went down in the box. Santi Cazorla stuck out a leg but didn't appear to make contact with his fellow Spaniard, and if he had it was very minimal at best. Fabregas still went down and was booked for simulation.

Arsenal also had their own penalty appeal ignored by Oliver when Cazorla's shot struck the outstretched arm of Gary Cahill in the box.

Arsenal were enjoying more of the possession but their rivals were still looking dangerous when they did get the ball. Willian's perfectly-weighed pass released Ramires in the box but Ospina was out quickly to save.

The Gunners did have a few chances of their own but Alexis Sanchez shot wide before Mesut Ozil's effort was comfortably saved by Thibaut Courtois in the Chelsea goal.

Arsenal were seemingly showing greater hunger and desire to get the result and were defending excellently to keep the league leaders at bay but the lack of clear-cut chances at the other end meant the hosts were unable to capitalise fully on a positive first half.

The tempo dipped in the second half and substitute Didier Drogba was denied by Ospina before later seeing a shot deflect wide. At the other end, Courtois' poor punch clear fell to the feet of Per Mertesacker on the edge of the box and the defender skewed his effort off target.

Arsenal were showing a lot of positivity in the second half and Courtois was looking nervy in the Chelsea goal and it kept feeling like this would be our best opportunity to beat the Blues. But we just couldn't create enough clear-cut chances and didn't test Courtois as nearly as often as we probably should've done.

Laurent Koscielny did superbly to win the ball back and burst forward before crossing for Cazorla whose shot was wayward. The Gunners wasted another chance to break the deadlock through substitute Danny Welbeck nine minutes from time. The England striker beat his man before seeing his deflected strike fumbled behind for a corner by Courtois.

Chelsea seemed content with simply playing for a draw and, although some criticised their tactics, it worked and got them a point that edges them ever closer to the title.

Arsenal can be proud of their efforts in terms of overall performance but will have been frustrated by their inability to force Courtois into too much action in a game that was there for the taking.

Even before kick-off it didn't look likely that Chelsea would be caught at the top and the derby clash was more about Wenger and his players trying to prove a point to their rivals. In some ways they succeeded and proved that they can match the top team in the division. We made them look ordinary at times and our defensive performance was excellent. However, the fact we couldn't kill the game off and finally get the better of Mourinho shows why Chelsea are clear at the top.

Although there is no trophy for second to fourth place we must make sure we focus on securing Champions League football for another season before the FA Cup Final comes around. Going from our usual fourth to finishing second would be an impressive achievement but we need to make sure we continue our unbeaten run and give ourselves the best possible chance of finishing above the two Manchester clubs.

Two Monday night games against Hull and Swansea are next on the agenda with the former scrapping for their Premier League lives near the bottom of the table. We need to make sure we don't underestimate our opponents and try and continue our positive run of form.

Our run of form in the second half of the season has been excellent but we need to make sure we are more consistent across a whole season. We have proved we can match the top sides in the division, taking four points off Manchester City and keeping Chelsea out for large spells at the Emirates. The defensive side of our game has certainly shown marked improvements in recent months and I thought Nacho Monreal had an excellent game against the leaders.

We need to improve the attacking side of things but if we can finish the campaign with several positive results, and another cup triumph, it will increase the belief in the camp and maybe, just maybe, we will have a better chance next time around.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS