Chelsea defender David Luiz was sent off for an ugly foul on Sead Kolasinac as Arsenal finally emerged unscathed from a trip to Chelsea with a 0-0 draw against the champion on Sunday.
The Brazilian saw red in the closing minutes at Stamford Bridge and he could have no complaints about his dismissal after lunging into a crude two-footed challenge on Arsenal defender Kolasinac.
It was the third sending-off for a Chelsea player in its last three meetings with Arsenal. Victor Moses got his marching orders in last season’s FA Cup final, while Pedro was dismissed in the Community Shield.
The Luiz flashpoint — Chelsea's fourth red card this season — was the most memorable moment of a hard-fought London derby that was high on perspiration but low on inspiration.
“We have great respect for officials, but it is strange to finish a third game in a row against Arsenal with 10 men,” Chelsea boss Antonio Conte said.
“You need to see what happened before the tackle.”
After losing on its last five visits to Chelsea, Arsene Wenger’s side had the better of the few clear-cut chances.
“It was about mentality and a response from our last away game. We could have won it. It was an intense game,” Wenger said.
In Serie A, A Paulo Dybala hat-trick lifted Juventus back to the summit of Serie A alongside Inter Milan with a 3-1 victory at Sassuolo on Sunday making it four wins out of four for the champion.
The Argentina forward left the pitch ten minutes from the end to a standing ovation from the crowd at the Mapei Stadium following a spectacular performance by the 23-year-old who has now scored eight goals in four games.
The results: Premier League: Chelsea 0 drew with Arsenal 0.
Bundesliga: Hoffenheim 1 (Wagner 6) drew with Hertha Berlin 1 (Esswein 55); Bayer Leverkusen 4 (Volland 21, 34, Aranguiz 29, Brandt 86) bt Freiburg 0.
La Liga: Alaves 0 lost to Villareal 3 (Bakambu 32, 62, Bacca 52).
Serie A: Sassuolo 1 (Politano 51) lost to Juventus 3 (Dybala 16, 49, 63); AC Milan 2 (Kalinic 22, 31) bt Udinese 1 (Lasagna 28); Napoli 6 (Allan 3, Insigne 15, Mertens 27, 65-pen, 90-pen, Callejon 32) bt Benevento 0; Torino 2 (Baselli 13, Belotti 15) drew with Sampdoria 2 (Zapata 1, Quagliarella 34); SPAL 0 lost to Cagliari 2 (Barella 17, Joao Pedro 68).
On Saturday: Premier League: Tottenham 0 drew with Swansea 0.
La Liga: Real Betis 2 (Joaquin 14, 76) bt Deportivo la Coruna 1 (Cartabia 23); Atletico Madrid 1 (Griezmann 61) bt Malaga 0.
Bundesliga: RB Leipzig 2 (Werner 17, Augustin 31) drew with Borussia Monchengladbach 2 (Hazard 25-pen, Stindl 61).
Serie A: Fiorentina 2 (Chiesa 51, Pezzella 69) Bologna 1 (Palacio 52); Roma 3 (Nainggolan 22, Dzeko 33, 61) bt Verona 0.