Stalemate at the Emirates

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie (L) sees his shot go wide as Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech dives during their Premier League encounter at the Emirates Stadium yesterday.Photo: AFP

Chelsea failed in their efforts to break into the top four before they head out to face Barcelona in the second leg of the Champions League semifinal after Roberto Di Matteo's side played out a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium here Saturday.
A solitary point for Arsene Wenger's side, meanwhile, meant the Gunners missed out on the opportunity to tighten their grip on third place.
Arsenal striker Robin Van Persie - who denied before the game he had met with Barcelona officials to discuss a possible transfer - was unable to break the deadlock with two late opportunities.
Chelsea, though, can take heart from a resolute defensive display that they must repeat next week of they are to protect their slender 1-0 first leg lead and progress into the Champions League final.
And the draw means they have lost just once in 14 games since Di Matteo took temporary charge of the side.
The team sheet confirmed where Chelsea's priorities lay with Di Matteo making eight changes to the line-up that stunned Barcelona midweek.
After two challenging games - the Blues beat Tottenham in the FA Cup semifinal at Wembley just three days before they faced Barca - it was inevitable Di Matteo would seek to freshen up his side.
But with keeper Petr Cech and centre back pairing Gary Cahill and John Terry the only players to retain their places, it was clear the manager's thoughts were already on the trip to Spain.
It was no surprise then that the visitors took time to settle although Arsenal were similarly unconvincing.
The first meeting between these sides this season last October produced eight goals as Arsenal pulled off a remarkable 5-3 victory at Stamford Bridge.
By those standards, however, this was a surprisingly tame encounter with both keepers surviving the first half largely untested.
Robin Van Persie was inevitably Arsenal's biggest threat and the Dutch striker struck the post from Theo Walcott's free kick although the effort may well have been ruled out for offside had Van Persie found the target.
Van Persie's future had once again been the subject of debate before kick-off following Arsene Wenger's insistence a decision on the forward's next contract would be resolved before he joins up with Holland for the Euro 2012 finals.