London, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Arsenal's winless run across all competitions was extended to four matches on Monday after the Gunners were held to a scoreless draw with Chelsea on a rainy night at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal have been at the summit of the Premiership for most of the season, but have come off the boil as of late following a 2-0 loss to Napoli in the Champions League and a 6-3 destruction at the hands of Manchester City on Dec. 14.
Eager to bounce back from their poor showing at the Etihad Stadium, Arsenal hoped to keep possession and take the game to Chelsea on home turf. But Jose Mourinho's club sat back and absorbed pressure in the first half, holding the hosts without a shot on target in the first half.
Chelsea had the best opportunity to break the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes when a volley from Frank Lampard smashed the crossbar in the 32nd minute, but neither club could find a goal and the sides went into the break scoreless.
The intensity picked up considerably in the second half as tackles came flying in from all over the pitch, but genuine scoring chances were still difficult to come by for both sides.
The Gunners finally generated some pressure in the final third with five minutes to play when Olivier Giroud turned a Kieran Gibbs corner kick on goal from inside the penalty area, but Petr Cech was able to parry it over the crossbar with a quick reaction save.
Arsenal earned a pair of corner kicks in stoppage time, but were unable to find a goal. Just moments later, Chelsea were awarded a free kick with just a minute to play, but substitute David Luiz smashed his attempt into the wall and the clubs were forced to settle for a point apiece.
The result sends Arsenal into second place in the Premiership, level on points with Liverpool and trailing the Reds on goal difference. Chelsea, meanwhile, sit in fourth place on 34 points.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.