By Jojo Doria

London, United Kingdom

Chelsea and Arsenal engaged in 90 minutes of pure defense as the matchup between two of the most celebrated ball clubs in the English Premier League ended in a scoreless draw Saturday at Emirates Stadium.

Coming off a 2-1 loss against the Wigan Athletic, Arsenal found itself in danger of losing the third spot in the EPL standings as Chelsea stood toe-to-toe defensively to frustrate the Gunners high-octane offense.

Robin van Persie and Laurent Koscielny both nearly scored for Arsenal in the first half but their shots both hit the crossbar.

Arsenal (20-5-10, 65 pts) also lost Theo Walcott to a potential season-ending hamstring injury in that forgetful half, giving the Gunners a harder task keeping the third spot in the EPL standings behind Newcastle (18-8-8, 62 pts) and Tottenham (17-8-9, 59 pts).

Meanwhile, Chelsea (16-10-8, 58 pts) also had several opportunities to nail a goal but Fernando Torres and Daniel Sturridge came up empty handed with their strikes.

Aston Villa and Sunderland also ended in a scoreless draw at Villa Park, while Blackburn Rovers salvaged a 2-0 victory over Norwich City behind goals from Mauro Formica and David Hoilett.

After stunning Arsenal, Wigan Athletic was pulled back to earth as they lost to Fulham, 2-1, at Craven Cottage. Yohan Cabaye scored twice and Papiss Demba Cisse added another as New Castle United routed Stoke City, 3-0, at Sports Direct Arena.

Arsenal Nets Costly Scoreless Draw with Chelsea