Mikel Arteta insisted Arsenal deserved respect after the Premier League leaders fought to a hard-earned 1-1 draw with title rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, capping a physically and emotionally draining week.

Arsenal salvaged a point thanks to Mikel Merino’s header in the 59th minute, responding to Trevoh Chalobah’s 48th-minute goal for Chelsea despite the hosts being reduced to 10 men after Moises Caicedo’s red card in the 38th minute.

Arteta was particularly impressed with his side’s performance given the absence of key centre-backs William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes, forcing an unfamiliar defensive partnership for the first time this season. Martin Ødegaard and Viktor Gyökeres were only fit for the bench, while Leandro Trossard was also sidelined through injury.

“It’s been a big week,” Arteta said. “The derby, how emotional and necessary the win was, then Bayern Munich. We lost players in those games. Today we had to play a partnership we haven’t played before in a really difficult match. The team had to react. It’s been a positive week because the difficulty was immense. I feel we should have won today, but we haven’t.”

Arsenal remain five points clear of second-placed Manchester City and six ahead of third-placed Chelsea, keeping their bid for a first English title since 2004 on track. Saliba’s availability will be crucial going forward after he missed the game due to a training knock and will be assessed ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Brentford.

“It’s been a headache because we have to have options and changes in the last few months. Saliba was unexpected. Today was a great learning match for all of us,” Arteta added.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca accepted Caicedo’s dismissal but questioned refereeing inconsistencies, highlighting a similar challenge by Rodrigo Bentancur in November that did not result in a red card. Maresca also expressed frustration over a yellow card shown to Piero Hincapie for an elbow on Chalobah that left the Chelsea defender bloodied.

“Moises is a red card, but why Bentancur against Reece was not? They judge in different ways,” Maresca said. “Trev one, I asked the referee, he said it was not an elbow. They judge differently. He has a black eye, he was with ice at half-time.”

Chelsea’s Reece James, usually a right-back, excelled in midfield but will miss Wednesday’s match at Leeds, with Maresca emphasizing the need to manage his fitness.