Arsenal host Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, and once again, Mikel Arteta has a few pivotal team selection decisions to make ahead of the clash.
After back-to-back away draws, the Gunners steamrolled Tottenham Hotspur in their last league fixture, brutally putting Igor Tudor’s side to the sword in N17. This result has re-energised Arteta’s team ahead of the run-in, significantly improving the morale around the Emirates after a difficult few weeks.
They now have an opportunity to put another marker down, as they entertain West London rivals Chelsea this weekend. The Blues haven’t shown tangible signs of improvement since Liam Rosenior took over, drawing their last two league games against Leeds and Burnley, respectively.
A tight game is expected to unfold in N5, and Paul Merson has subsequently tipped his former club to narrowly come away with all three points.
Paul Merson urges Mikel Arteta to start Eberechi Eze against Chelsea
Arteta opted to select Bukayo Saka as a number ten against Wolves, and this came back to bite Arsenal. Their attack looked dysfunctional in the West Midlands, and the Spanish manager ultimately reverted to a more conventional system against Spurs, deploying Eberechi Eze as the most advanced midfielder.
Eze thrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, scoring twice in an accomplished performance. The former Crystal Palace man was at the heart of Arsenal’s fluid attack, pulling opposition players out of position with his elusive movement and intricate touches in and around the box.
Merson pushed for Eze to start in the North London Derby, and the pundit has advocated for this selection again for the Chelsea clash, despite Martin Odegaard returning to fitness.
Writing for Sportskeeda, Merson wrote, simply: “Arsenal should go with Eberechi Eze in this game. He scored twice in the derby, so I can’t see it being any other way.”
Given how excellently Eze performed against Spurs, it would certainly be a bizarre decision from Arteta if he were to mix things up in this position again. The England international has surely done enough to merit another start in a critical game.
Paul Merson highlights key Chelsea weakness ahead of Arsenal clash
Since taking over at Stamford Bridge, Rosenior has seen his side win four out of six league games, only dropping points in their last two fixtures. While this record looks positive on the surface, Chelsea’s league wins in this period have come against Brentford, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Wolves.
Arsenal comfortably dispatched the West London outfit in the Carabao Cup semi-final over two legs, while Rosenior’s side have posted some dire defensive numbers in recent weeks. Merson, who has predicted the Gunners to win 1-0, highlighted Chelsea’s defensive deficiencies in his preview.
“Chelsea let in a goal every week without fail!” he wrote.
“It was a really bad result against Burnley last weekend. I expect Chelsea to be a threat, but I can’t see them keeping a clean sheet in this game. Apart from one or two winnable games, all of the upcoming fixtures till the end of the season will be a huge challenge for Chelsea.
“Barring the Manchester United game, Arsenal are still unbeaten at home. But this is still a tough game for them because they have to come out and win this. They didn’t have to do that in the second leg of the cup game at the Emirates!”
