Preview: Arsenal v Chelsea

ESR Barkley

Preview: Arsenal v Chelsea

By Oscar Maung-Haley

Arsenal will be hoping to get their season up and running when they welcome London rivals Chelsea to the Emirates on Sunday.

Last time out, Arsenal fell 2-0 at the hands of Brentford on the opening day of the new Premier League campaign with goals from Sergi Canos and Christian Norgaard confining the Gunners to defeat.

And Arsenal will need to be much improved ahead of their London derby with European champions Chelsea.

The Gunners looked toothless against the newly promoted Brentford, creating just a few clear cut opportunities to score.

Brentford beat Arsenal 2-0 on the opening day of Premier League action

There is a chance that Mikel Arteta’s side will be buoyed by the potential return of captain Pierre-Emerick 
Aubameyang, who missed the season opener with COVID-19.

Additionally, should starlet Bukayo Saka feature from the off, then Arsenal’s attacking prospects should improve ten-fold.

While Aubameyang could return to action, Willian, Alex Runarsson and last season’s top scorer Alexandre Lacazette all miss out after testing positive for COVID-19.

And alongside the positive COVID cases, Gabriel Magalhaes, Eddie Nketiah and Thomas Partey are also still missing.

New signings Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale are unlikely to feature, with the former already confirmed to be awaiting a visa clearance.

However, while the feeling around the two clubs stand in stark contrast, Chelsea have only won three of their past 14 games against Arsenal in all competitions (five draws, six losses).

The European champions have also lost their last three games against the Gunners.

A win for Arsenal would give them four successive wins against Chelsea in all competitions, which would be the first time since 2004 they managed that feat.

In contrast to Arsenal’s start, Chelsea got their season off to a flyer, dispatching Crystal Palace in a routine 3-0 win.

Lukaku

While winger Christian Pulisic has been ruled out by COVID-19, Chelsea could welcome back a host of stars to their starting XI.

Both N’Golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech look set to return to the fold, while new summer re-signing Romelu Lukaku could make his second Chelsea debut at the Emirates.

Should Lukaku play a prominent part in the London derby, then Arsenal may be in for a tough afternoon.

Against Brentford, Ivan Toney’s aerial prowess posed a serious threat to the Gunners, with centre-backs Ben White and Pablo Mari struggling under the high ball.

If Arsenal are to come away with anything from the derby, they will need to up their game massively following last Friday’s dismal performance.

And with games against Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur coming up in the next few weeks, another damaging loss of the new season could send Arsenal and Arteta spiralling after just two matches.

Photo Credit: Getty Images


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