The first top-six clash of the New Year certainly lived up to the expectations of the watching masses, as a stoppage time finish from Héctor Bellerín secured a point for Arsenal in a 2-2 draw with London rivals Chelsea.

It was a thrilling first 45 minutes at The Emirates Stadium with excellent chances all around, stunning form from the two goalkeepers stopping the score from being opened.

The beginning of the second period followed similar beats with good chances for Eden Hazard, Marcos Alonso and Lacazette but it was Jack Wilshere who managed to break the deadlock, that didn't last long as azard equalised from the spot before Alonso looked to have secured the win late on but it was Bellerín's late effort that saw the spoils deservingly shared.

Inches in it

It was expected to be fiery affair between these two London rivals, but many will have been slightly surprised to the open nature of the opening period and both sides came within a whisker of taking the lead.

Chelsea were under quite some pressure in the 14th minute but a punt forward from Victor Moses nearly turned the clash on it's head, the makeshift full-back's ball fell into Morata who had no pressure on him as he strode into the area but still managed to place it wide of the mark.

The best chance fell to The Gunners moments later as they managed to settle themselves after Ainsley Maitland-Niles' tumble in the area was waved away by Anthony Taylor, Sánchez managed to squeeze a shot away which Thibaut Courtois did well to push onto one post before collecting it after it rolled across the goal-line before hitting the opposite post.

They had another crack at it when Mesut Özil beautifully picked out Lacazette, the Frenchman did well to take the touch before hitting the shot on the turn and Courtois managed to get his lanky frame down to keep it out the bottom corner.

Tale of two stoppers

Courtois had been worked hard in the first period, but Petr Čech showed that he could keep up with his old club as both keepers were tested early into the second period.

The first chance of the second-half came six minutes after the restart as Cesc Fàbregas did well to find Hazard in space, the Belgian decided to go wide but still got the shot away which Čech saved with his feet. He was called on again seconds later as Tiémoué Bakayoko's cross founds the head of Alonso, but the keeper did well to push the effort away.

​Courtois looked to go one better minutes later as Lacazette did well to turn Gary Cahill, the Frenchman decided to go with power which proved to be the wrong decision as Courtois pulled off the save.

Jack is back

The 2017/18 season was proving to be the renascence of Wilshere having struggled for form and fitness for a number of years, and he sealed his return to form as he scored his first goal since May 2015 just after the hour mark.

Rob Holding's cross into the area was deflected off Morata into the path of Wilshere, the midfielder still had a lot to do with the angle seemingly working against him but did well to rifle it into the top corner of the seemingly unstoppable Courtois' net.

Instantly chalked off

They do say that you are most vulnerable when you have just scored and that was no more true than for Arsène Wenger's side as their lead last four minutes. It did seem soft as Bellerín lunged and Hazard went tumbling and Anthony Taylor had no hesitation, it was the Belgian who got up to take the spot-kick and made no mistake as smashed into the right-hand corner.

Turning of the tide

Hazard's equaliser seemed to turn the tide in favour of The Blues, and with six minutes to play they managed to secure the three points. It all came from Davide Zappacosta as his low, pacey cross caused trouble in the Arsenal area, Alonso was there and he brilliantly used the pace of the pace to turn it beyond Čech to become this season's highest-scoring defender.

Having the final say

Four minutes of added time gave the remaining home contingent some hope of taking a point, and it was Bellerín who was the hero as he stepped up with two minutes remaining.

It was touch of class from the Spaniard as the ball fell kindly to him, he proceeded to bend a great effort out of the reach of Courtois and into the far corner.

Antonio Conte's side should have went back across the capital with all three points with the final kick of the game, Morata should have had a hat-trick but managed to smash it straight at Čech and Zappacosta hit the rebound off the crossbar.

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About the author
Danial  Kennedy
Award-winning sports journalism graduate. Currently studying a PR Masters at the University of Sunderland. Writing for VAVEL since August 2014. Twitter - @ddkjournalism.