Chelsea vs Arsenal: 5 Talking Points as Blues reduced to 10 men

3) Conte attempts to wrest control of midfield in the second half

Chelsea's Tiemoue Bakayoko (R) came on as a second-half substitute

With Chelsea's midfield getting completely overrun in the first half, Antonio Conte decide to switch things in the second half. Pedro had taken a knock in the first 45 and the Spaniard became the sacrificial lamb, making way for Tiemoue Bakayoko.

Almost immediately the Blues looked sharper. With Bakayoko and Kante in the base of Chelsea's midfield, Arsenal's attacks through the middle fizzled out.

But after Eden Hazard was introduced with 20 minutes to go, Chelsea settled into a 3-5-1-1 with Cesc Fabregas playing the deepest among the three midfielders. This was done so both Kante and Bakayoko could pressurise Arsenal in their own half.

It resulted in a very scrappy game in the second half with both sides forcing turnovers. Possession changed hands a number of times while the number of fouls also increased dramatically with players running into each other quite often because the middle of the pitch was very crowded.