A stoppage-time goal by Hector Bellerin helped Arsenal play a 2-2 draw against Chelsea on Wednesday. The draw left Arsenal with 39 points, one fewer than fifth-place Tottenham Hotspur, who will play their 22nd match on Thursday against West Ham United.

Meanwhile, Chelsea with 46 points from 22 matches is one point behind second-place Manchester United and 16 behind league leaders Manchester City.

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Talking about the match, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said it to be a great football game that saw fantastic action on both sides and a game where his players showed great mental resources. “I think it was a great football game, where we saw fantastic action on both sides and a game where we have shown great mental resources. I knew before the game that the last 20 minutes could be difficult for us, because we have a big disadvantage with the schedule. We got, again, a farcical decision but we knew that as well before, so we have to deal with that. That’s it basically,” he said, according to www.arsenal.com.

Meanwhile, Wenger seemed to be impressed with Jack Wilshere’s display who scored in the Premier League after two and a half years. He said at his post-match press conference that Wilshere deserved a great credit for his remarkable strength. “I think he is at the level now where not many people expected him to be. When was the last time he played for England? Exactly, against Iceland [at Euro 2016], he came on. Since he has not played for England and I would say that means that everybody had given up on him. Today, nobody would be surprised if he was selected again. So that means instances of us being criticised for that, I think first of all he deserves a great credit for remarkable strength and we do as well,” Wenger was quoted by the official website of Arsenal.

Talking about Hector Bellerin’s resolve, the Arsenal manager said, “Well, what you get at the moment, no matter who you are, is criticism. That’s for free on the market. It flies around in a very severe way and that, I think every player gets that. The only response they can give is on the football pitch and he is a remarkable fighter.”