Abraham returns in Chelsea draw but leaves FPL owners with injury concern

CHELSEA 2-2 ARSENAL

• Goals: Jorginho (£4.9m), Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.8m)| Gabriel Martinelli (£4.5m), Hector Bellerin (£5.4m)
• Assists: Tammy Abraham (£7.8m), Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.3m) | Shkodran Mustafi (£5.1m), Lucas Torreira (£4.7m)
• Bonus Points: Jorginho x3, Martinelli x2, Bellerin x1, Mustafi x1

Despite taking just two shots at Stamford Bridge during Double Gameweek 24, a 10-man Arsenal managed to leave with a point after equalising twice.

A red card for David Luiz (£5.7m) after 27 minutes for a foul on Tammy Abraham (£7.8m) allowed Jorginho (£4.9m) to open the scoring from the penalty spot.

To get sent off the way he did was a shame for him, but he was proud of the team. – Mikel Arteta

Despite having the extra man, Chelsea failed to increase their advantage or dominate the game for the final 20 minutes of the first half.

While Frank Lampard’s men did take control after the interval, they were sucker-punched on 63 minutes as Arsenal levelled with their first shot of the evening.

Shkodran Mustafi‘s (£5.1m) header clear from a Chelsea corner found Gabriel Martinelli (£4.5m), who ran the length of the pitch before coolly slotting past Kepa Arrizabalaga (£5.5m) for a second consecutive league goal.

The young Arsenal forward will be a tempting option for many FPL bosses looking to free up funds for other moves, though there remains the possibility that he could imminently depart for international duty.

Martinelli was close to being sacrificed by Mikel Arteta after Luiz’s dismissal, though the manager made a fortunate u-turn on the decision. He explained:

With Martinelli I changed my mind because I didn’t want to send that message to the team. I asked them to be accountable.

The home side then looked to have locked up three points after Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.3m) – who impressed in his role on the Chelsea right – found Cesar Azpilicueta (£5.8m) in the box after a short-corner routine.

Played onside by Granit Xhaka (£5.1m), the Spanish full-back’s effort beat Bernd Leno (£5.0m) as Chelsea retook the lead after 84 minutes.

That corner was won by Abraham, who ended up hitting the hoardings after contesting the ball with Arsenal substitute Rob Holding (£4.5m).

The collision left the Chelsea striker a passenger for the final minutes of the game, with Lampard giving a brief injury update post-match.

(Abraham) had ice on his ankle but we don’t know (what the injury is) yet.

Question if he has the resources at his disposal to deal with Abraham’s possible absence, Lampard delivered a frank response:

Yeah, I do.

With the Blues seemingly set for three points, Azpilicueta’s countryman Hector Bellerin (£5.4m) marked his return from a long-term injury with a superb left-footed strike in the 88th minute to earn Arteta’s men a point.

The Arsenal boss said after the game:

I am proud. I said to them I believe they can get back in the game and I’m very pleased. Tonight is going to be a great experience for them as in football anything can happen.

Meanwhile, Chelsea chief Lampard was less than impressed with the result amid Chelsea’s ongoing home struggles:

You think you have done enough, you would hope so. We got a detail wrong and the second goal was soft. It was too soft. We have to be real about it. They have had two shots and two goals.

We know the problems at home and they defended their box well. It is the story of creating a lot [but] not unbelievable chances. We need to take them again.

We are looking at it but a lot of the results have looked the same. I don’t like too many stats in expected goals but we [are] bottom of the league in taking them.

While it was 11 versus 11 in the opening half, Callum Hudson-Odoi (£5.3m) was the standout player from an FPL point-of-view.

The midfielder played from the right of Chelsea’s attacking trio, with Willian (£7.2m) flanking Abraham from the left.

Hudson-Odoi made life very difficult for Arsenal’s makeshift left-back Bukayo Saka (£4.5m midfielder), as the Chelsea winger attempted four crosses in the opening 15 minutes. He also hit the top of Leno’s crossbar with an effort somewhere between a shot and a cross.

The £5.3m man only trailed left-back Emerson (£5.5m) for crosses, while he was just behind Jorginho for ‘expected assists’ (xA) among all assets.

Hudson-Odoi did eventually pick up an attacking return for Azpilicueta’s strike though with Abraham potentially sidelined and a tough-looking immediate schedule [Leicester (a), Man Utd (H), Spurs (H)], the budget midfielder may be one for the watchlist at present.

Lampard also hinted that Christian Pulisic (£6.9m) will be back in the frame for a wing role on his expected return from injury in Gameweek 26 or 27.

He is getting better and today could have helped the team (if he had been fit).

Chelsea’s spot-kick specialist Jorginho admitted the draw against 10 men was tough to take:

We feel like we lost the game. We had the game in our hands, then in the last second conceded a goal when we shouldn’t. It’s hard. We need to move forward. I don’t think it’s confidence, because we played well and were controlling the game.

Something about concentration maybe. In these kind of games, you lose in moments. We made mistakes. That is it. These big games are like these. You can win and lose the game in the details.

Chelsea (4-3-3): Kepa; Emerson, Christensen, Rüdiger, Azpilicueta; Kovacic (Barkley 66′), Kanté (Mount 69′), Jorginho; Willian (Batshuayi 79′), Abraham, Hudson-Odoi.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno; Saka, Luiz, Mustafi, Bellerín; Torreira, Xhaka; Martinelli (Willock 90+1′), Özil (Guendouzi 57′), Pépé (Holding 80′); Lacazette.

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