Reece James believes the way Chelsea took on the league leaders Arsenal head on, and ended the game disappointed not to win despite being reduced to 10 men, showed how far this Blues side has come and what it can still achieve.
An impressive showing from the Blues in a fantastic derby day atmosphere at Stamford Bridge saw us take the game to our London rivals, even after the visitors were given a numerical advantage by a red card for Moises Caicedo before half-time.
Rather than retreating with 10 men, Chelsea continued to take the game to our opponents and opened the scoring when Trevoh Chalobah headed in James’ corner.
Although we had to settle for a 1-1 draw at the final whistle, it was a game which left our captain with mixed feelings, as an important and hard-fought point, as well as a missed opportunity to take all three.
‘I’m proud,’ started the Blues skipper. ‘The team is so young, but we went toe-to-toe with the team at the top of the Premier League at the moment.
Widescreen highlights of Chelsea’s 1-1 Premier League draw against the Gunners…
‘We didn’t show fear and we tried to come out to win the game. Unfortunately we weren’t able to do that, but there were a lot of positives to take from the game.
‘We knew the game was going to be tough, but to be honest it was a game we felt we probably could have won. It was difficult to only walk away with a point considering how well we did.
‘We played 60 minutes with 10 men, having to cope with all of their players – they are a very good team, they’re the league leaders at the moment. We went toe-to-toe with them, so we have lots of good things to take away.
‘We started sharp, we had a few early half-chances, but the game got more difficult when we went down to 10. We made a few changes and they were coming forward a lot, but we still felt we had the players and the quality to hurt them when we got the ball. We tried our best, now we have to take a point and move forward.’
Joao Pedro reacts after Chelsea’s 1-1 Premier League draw against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge…
Even with just a point to show for our efforts on this occasion, James believes the level we have shown recently demonstrates this is a Blues side which is capable of challenging the best. This draw came hot on the heels of the 3-0 UEFA Champions League victory over Barcelona and followed a run of three consecutive wins in the Premier League.
‘Our objective is always to win. This is Chelsea Football Club, the standards here are high. I think the result and the performance today speak for themselves and send a message to the other teams in the league.
‘We dominated the whole game in every area throughout, with 11 men and 10 men. I think that was a big statement on where we are and what we’re fighting for. We’ve come a long way and we’re building on result after result, and I think we showed that today.
‘So I’m proud of the boys. It was electric here at Stamford Bridge today and we take a point and move forward.’
