Arsenal take on Chelsea on Sunday at the Emirates Stadium in their 23rd league game of the season. It is the two teams’ third meeting with each other in the 2015/16 campaign.
The Gunners go into this match badly needing a win. Whilst still holding pole position in the league, the recent draws away at Liverpool and Stoke mean that only goal difference separates Arsene Wenger’s men and Leicester City. With the 3-3 and 0-0 results contrasting significantly – a fluid attacking performance with a leaky defence at Anfield, but a lacklustre attack yet a resolute defence at the Britannia – it’ll be tough to predict what kind of Arsenal will turn up this weekend. However, especially given the tension between the two London teams and the desire to get back to winning ways in front of the home crowd, expect a charged up performance from the side in red and white.
Arsenal went up to the infamous bogey ground of the Britannia last weekend, in a 0-0 draw that was certainly an improvement on previous seasons. With Arsenal and Stoke missing their creative sparks of Mesut Ozil and Xherdan Shaqiri respectively, it was a match-up defined by the players between the sticks. Petr Cech and Jack Butland had Man of the Match performances on the night, making extraordinary saves against the likes of Joselu and Olivier Giroud respectively. Both of the aforementioned kept their teams in the game and of course for a clean sheet, so overall it was a fair result.
Chelsea continue to show signs of improvement under caretaker boss Guus Hiddink – and whilst the Blues have yet to make significant progress points-wise and in terms of position, there is a noticable change in attitude – and perhaps this grind is what’s needed at this point to get the west London club out of what can only be described as a relegation battle. Such a hike in effort was evident last weekend as they welcomed the aesthetically pleasing Everton to Stamford Bridge. Hiddink’s men battled after going 2-0 down to bring it back to two a piece, and then showed their resolve by fighting to literally the last minutes of the game, with John Terry’s dubious equaliser rescuing a point. Whilst the defensive frailities are harder to solve as a newly-appointed coach, it appears that what was otherwise a disinterested and lacklustre Chelsea front four earlier this season is beginning to get its mojo back – much to the displeasure of Arsenal.
A player Arsenal need to watch out for is Willian. In all the doom and gloom surrounding Jose Mourinho’s final days at Chelsea, the stellar performances of the Brazilian during this time had showed him to be an example to follow in times of despair – such good form being continued, albeit to a lesser degree, under the new manager. Given the strength of the Gunners’ back-line, Chelsea may need to call upon the tricky winger once more to control the proceedings in the final third.
A player Chelsea have to keep an eye on is Mesut Ozil. After taking a break following a minor foot injury, the German will be refreshed and ready to play a key role in this game. Dismantling this Chelsea back-line will certainly require the in-form midfielder to be on top of his game, especially given how Arsenal struggled without him against Stoke. Expect Ozil to continue his pursuit of the all-time Premier League assist record on Sunday.
The last time these two teams faced off, it resulted in a 2-0 win for Chelsea in what was the few highlights of Jose Mourinho’s final season in charge. In what was a very tight game, the pendulum only swung in the Blues’ favour following the sending-offs of Gabriel and Santi Cazorla. With Arsenal becoming more fluid in the attacking proceedings as the season has progressed, as long as the Gunners keep their heads cool, it should be a less stressful match for them.
Team news
The injury list has decreased massively in the past week, and whilst not all will be ready for Sunday, it’ll certainly give Wenger confidence in the oncoming months to look towards his bench. The Frenchman confirmed in Thursday’s news conference that Alexis Sanchez and Ozil are both fit to play on the weekend – expect the Chilean to start on the bench and for Ozil to be in the starting XI. As well as this, Francis Coquelin is back in training, Tomas Rosicky played in the reserves on Friday and that Danny Welbeck will be in full training next week – expect none of that trio to appear on Sunday though. This just leaves Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere in the treatment room – the Spaniard is still out until March but the Englishman should be back in training in a matter of weeks.
Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard has returned to training following a groin injury and is in contention to start. Diego Costa suffered a bruised shin against Everton last weekend but is expected to be fit.
Predicted XIs
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Flamini, Ramsey; Campbell, Ozil, Walcott; Giroud.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Pedro; Costa.
Match facts
– Chelsea haven’t lost in their last eight league meetings with Arsenal (won five, drawn three).
– If the Gunners fail to score on Sunday it will equal their longest run without a goal versus any opponent in the Premier League.
– Arsenal are unbeaten in nine Premier League games at the Emirates Stadium, winning seven and conceding just four goals in that run. That contrasts with one win in their last six away matches.
– Mesut Ozil has scored three goals and provided a league-high 16 assists this season but he has never scored or set up a goal in seven career appearances against Chelsea.
– The Blues are 27 points worse off than at the same stage of last season’s title-winning campaign.
