A much-changed Chelsea team held out to secure a 0-0 draw in a lacklustre affair at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League had evidently taken its toll on the starting XI involved in that match as Roberto Di Matteo made eight changes to his team.
The Blues were still able to hold their own, however, and frustrated the Gunners for the most part despite lacking a touch of class in attack that may have enabled them to take more than one point.
Chelsea will have their sights focused on the second leg of their European semi-final and the upcoming FA Cup final but the stalemate does give Tottenham, who have a game in hand, the chance to pull four points clear of Roberto Di Matteo's team in the race to finish in the top four.
The Blues looked happy to sit back and absorb pressure in the early stages when Arsenal gained possession but looked sharp and threatening when they sprung out of their compact defensive shape to attack.
Torres nicked the ball away after some diligent defensive work in the Arsenal half on a couple of occasions but despite moving the ball well in midfield Chelsea could not take advantage in attack. Salomon Kalou half-heartedly appealed for a penalty after he had lost control of the ball when through on goal on the left-hand side.
The home side slowly grew into the game, though, and wasted a golden chance to take the lead after 14 minutes.
Theo Walcott guided a superb free-kick towards the back post that dropped to Robin van Persie but the Dutchman could only stab his finish wide.
Petr Cech remained untroubled until the Gunners carved out a flurry of opportunities as the half drew to a close.
Koscielny was entirely unmarked when he headed a Van Persie free-kick against the crossbar before the Dutchman controlled Alex Song's excellent pass to force Cech into a good block inside the penalty area.
Walcott was hauled off just after the hour mark with a hamstring injury that was handled in a way that will not have pleased the watching Stuart Pearce, England's interim manager.
Walcott played on after suffering a tweak to the before he again went down in pain and was substituted minutes later.
Gary Cahill appeared to lean on Van Persie when challenging for a high ball in the penalty area but referee Mike Dean remained unmoved despite the striker's protests.
Van Persie began to find more space as play became more stretched in midfield but could not take advantage, wriggling away from a couple of Blues defenders and a stranded Cech in the box only to see his shot blocked on the line.
Koscielny had to be alert to slide in and prevent Sturridge from shooting from close range at the other end as the moment of decisive quality needed to give either side the edge did not come.