Three Things We Learned after Arsenal's draw at Chelsea as Brentford loom 

Ahead of Arsenal vs Brentford here's Ian Mills with his analysis after the Gunners earned hard-fought point at Chelsea 

A feisty London derby ends all square after a huge week, writes Ian Mills.

Here are three things that stood out for our Gooner Fanzine print writer after the tough capital clash at Stamford Bridge. 

1 - Merino to the rescue:

– Mikel Merino registered his 20th goal for club and country in 2025 as he once again showed his attacking prowess despite playing out of his position.

He had been on the wrong end of a dreadful first half challenge by Moises Caceido which was rightly punished with a straight red card after a VAR intervention. Having fallen behind sloppily from a set piece we were quickly level as Bukayo Saka’s wonderful cross was met with a great header from Merino.

He also produced our best effort after we equalised when his low shot was well saved by Robert Sanchez. This game saw both Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus return to our bench however Merino has proven himself a more than able deputy in theirs and Kai Havertz absence. He also has a tremendous passing range to ally to his finishing ability.

2 - If you can’t win make sure you do not lose:

– it was not an easy game to watch with actual football at premium as it largely gave way to a heated contest and a war of attrition.

We did not play well, and you could see we were missing our first choice centre backs with both Gabriel and William Saliba absent while Martin Odegaard and Gyokeres were only deemed fit enough to start on the bench.

Leandro Trossard was another big miss as he has been in sensational form. Despite going down to ten men, when Chelsea scored from poor defending at a corner – flashbacks of numerous Stamford Bridge humblings were all too vividly recalled.

Thankfully, our response was quick and once we level we looked like the only team who would go on to win it. As it was the draw kept both Chelsea and Manchester City at arm’s length.

The return of so many attacking options is most welcome as December has a bumper nine fixtures to fulfil.

3 - Another hard away game negotiated successfully:

– so that is now Old Trafford, Anfield, St James Park, Craven Cottage, The Stadium of Light and Stamford Bridge all visited (amongst others) and we sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

As is the case with any London club negotiating a title challenge, there are also derbies galore to play and we have now played five, winning the previous four, scoring nine times and conceding just two.

The games continue to come thick and fast with another London derby on Wednesday at home to Brentford before Aston Villa await at the weekend in the west Midlands.