Arteta demands respect as depleted Gunners dig deep

MIKEL Arteta insisted Arsenal deserved respect after the English Premier League leaders battled to a bruising 1-1 draw with title rivals Chelsea at the end of a gruelling week.

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Arteta’s injury-hit side salvaged a point at Stamford Bridge thanks to Mikel Merino’s 59th-minute header. It took everything Arsenal had to emerge unscathed after fired-up Chelsea ignored Moises Caicedos 38th-minute red card and took the lead through Trevoh Chalobah’s 48th-minute header.

Arteta was especially impressed with Arsenal’s display because they started a Premier League match without injured centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes for the first time this season.

Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres were only fit enough for the bench, while Leandro Trossard was also absent due to injury.

In the circumstances, Arteta was delighted to see his team refuse to accept defeat after a draining seven days that started with a 4-1 rout of north London rivals Tottenham and featured a statement victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.