'Arsenal deserve to be clear - but who's best placed to challenge?'

Alan Shearer

All the teams chasing Arsenal have got things they need to work on - for Chelsea, their lack of discipline is something that has to change if they are going to challenge for the title.

Moises Caicedo's dismissal in Sunday's 1-1 draw against the Gunners was the fourth time in 13 Premier League games that a Chelsea player has been sent off this season.

One of those red cards, for Malo Gusto against Forest, came so late it did not affect the outcome but against Manchester United, Brighton and now Arsenal, they have been a man down for a significant part of each match.

They have taken only one point from a possible nine in those games, and of course the red card had an impact on each result.

Against Arsenal, Chelsea will be happy with a point in the circumstances because of the way they responded when they went down to 10 men and the goal they scored. Even when they did concede, they made it difficult for the Gunners, who could not open them up.

But, because of the way his team played with 10 men, I still think Blues boss Enzo Maresca will see it as an opportunity missed at home to close the gap on the leaders.

It's not long since Arsenal were the team who were rueing costly red cards in the title race - they dropped points in three of their first eight matches last season, and all three occasions came after they had a man sent off.

This season, however, their disciplinary record is much improved. Yes, they picked up six yellow cards on Sunday in what was a feisty London derby, but they kept 11 men on the pitch.

That's something Mikel Arteta's side have done in all 20 games they've played in all competitions this season, and it's an example Chelsea need to start to follow.

I didn't have Chelsea down as title contenders before the season started - I had them as being in and around the top four - but then I didn't think they would win the Club World Cup in the summer, and they surprised me there.

It probably suits them that no-one really has them down as title contenders now, either, even though Sunday's game was first versus second going into the weekend.

They are still in a good position after their draw, but do I think they will win the Premier League from here? No, I don't.

Can they win it? Yes, of course... but they would need to improve more than just their disciplinary record for that to happen.

It is their inconsistency that has cost them more than anything, in games like their 2-1 home defeat by Sunderland where a red card was not to blame, because what has been a decent start to the season for them could have been even better.