Arsenal v Chelsea; Match Preview

It’s Chelsea. Since Roman Abramovich took over the once faltering blues, there has been no team that has truly stood in stark contrast to Arsenal, than Chelsea. And in that era, beginning with the appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager, the current European Champions, have had the better of the engagements – until recently.

And that’s where we take off from. Since the 2010/2011 season there has been a slow gradual shift in the fortunes of Arsenal when it has played Chelsea. It was capped off with the amazingly frenetic 5-3 win by the Gunners at Stamford Bridge.

With Chelsea coming to Arsenal for their first match up of the season, it marks the second big test for the Gunners and the first big opposition presented to the Blues.

Chelsea come in at the top of the table winning 4 and drawing 1. But their wins for the most part have yet to convince anyone that Chelsea are real title contenders.

Roman Abramovich approaches his Chelsea team a lot different then Arsenal. They are his living, fantasy football team, where money is not an object when it comes to signing players. And with little regard for finances, he has begun a rapid transition from the strong powerful Drogba-led Blues to a more finesse driven squad with the likes of Oscar, Juan Mata, and Eden Hazard driving the big blue bus.

This new style of play hasn’t fully taken hold at Chelsea and there are frailties and a lack of creativity at times (due to incessant line-up tinkering) that could be advantageous to the Gunners.

It still holds true that if Arsenal are given the time and space to play their game, they will carve any opposition apart. Manchester City were very fortunate last week that Gervinho had resorted back to his former self. Had he been the Gervinho of the opening few weeks, it is quite possible that Arsenal could’ve walked out of the Etihad with more than a point.

The point is that Arsenal are always going to be good when you give them the time and space. And this is where Chelsea are having problems. With Merieles and Essien gone so has some of the steal in the middle of the pitch for Chelsea. Mikel is admirable but he is hardly effective and in most games it is pretty evident that the back four remain unprotected.

The Chelsea attack is supported by the fullbacks with very little width from players up front. This support from the back leaves additional space in the back, and based on how Arsenal have been moving the ball forward, it’s just an additional avenue the Gunners can exploit

But still, these matches have been hard fought affairs. However, the biggest bruiser of them all is no longer there. Didier Drogba was enough to break Phillipe Senderos’ spirit. He was good. But he was especially good against the Gunners. In 33 EPL match ups between the two sides, Chelsea have fared much better with Drogba in the side then with out (With: W7 D3 L1 –  Without: W0 D9 L13).

In this early season, his presence has been largely missed, especially since his replacement, Fernando Torres hasn’t filled the gap. Without the scoring touch up front, the creativity from the middle is suffering.

This match holds so much interest not just for the fact that it will be interesting to see Chelsea play in a style most Arsenal fans know from their own side but have never seen from the Blues. But it will be interesting to see if either of these teams early success is for real.

As we’ve been saying all along though, it’s just another step. For Arsenal, it will show us whether they really are moving in the right direction. Doubt still remains. I’ve heard plenty of pundits and even some Arsenal fans doubt that the improvement we’ve seen is for real.

True enough. The real acid test and analysis should begin when the club have played 10-15 games. Then we can really get a sense of whether or not this club is for real. However, the Chelsea tie still affords us a chance to look hard and see if the defense improvement continues to be stellar.

Manchester City’s midfield and attack were very good. Chelsea sans the misfiring Torres are just as good. It will be another knotch on the belt of Arsenal if they can go out yet again and put on a solid performance against quality opposition.

And in the end while the result means little at this point, it can have a further solidifying effect on Arsenal’s continued upward trajectory

How the match should play out.
I really don’t expect to see the big blue bus pull up on to the Emirates pitch this weekend. I fully expect this new-look Chelsea to come in and have a proper go at it. Arsenal for their part need to come out and immediately get the home crowd involved. They’ll already be baying for blood with John Terry and all his foibles in the line up, but get them riled up against the cross-town rivals and it will make for a long day in North London for the visitors. This really has the makings of a really good match.  The chess match in the midfield will likely be where the action is. Look for Arsenal to attack Mikel who is less then formidable in the DM role. With both teams evolving from previous incarnations, I think Arsenal have more than enough to cause the back four and less impressive Petr Cech problems.

Players to Watch:
Arsenal. Carl Jenkinson.  The boyhood Arsenal fan who catapulted from Charlton to RB at his favorite club will likely have his hands full on Saturday having to deal with Eden Hazard. How he handles Hazard might go a long way to determining whether or not Bacary Sagna slots back in immediately after his return.

Chelsea. Eden Hazard.  It was once thought that the Belgian wunder-kind would be bound to one or two places Arsenal or Real Madrid. And while you can never count out his making a move to Spain he won’t be coming here any time soon. Instead he his plying his trade in Blue and has settled in nicely in the Premier League and at Chelsea. His skill, footwork and ability will provide Carl Jenkinson with his toughest test of the season so far.

Projected Starting XI:

Injuries and Suspensions:
Arsenal:  Chamakh (illness), Fabiansky (shoulder), Wilshere (match fitness), Rosicky (calf), Szczesny (ankle), Sagna (leg)

Chelsea: Sturridge (hamstring)

Leading Scorers:
Arsenal:  Podolski  2, Gervinho 2

Chelsea: Ivanovic 2, Torres 2, Lampard 2

Assists Leaders:
Arsenal: Cazorla 2

Chelsea: Hazard 4

Last Meeting (EPL):
Arsenal: 0

Chelsea: 0

Goals For:
Arsenal (home): 3

Chelsea (away): 1

Goals Against:
Arsenal (home): 0.5

Chelsea: (away): 0

Last Five:
Arsenal: DDWWD

Chelsea: WWWDW

Goal Difference:
Arsenal: 7

Chelsea: 7

Match Official:
Referee: Martin Atkinson. Matches: 4, R0 Y16.

Broadcast Information:
US: ESPN2 (ESPN3.com) 0745 AM EST

UK: Sky Sports 2 1245 BST

GAMEDAY CHAT: It’s Open!!!!!!

www.youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat

YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 2

Chelsea: 1

Closing Thoughts:

I have no issue with players yapping to the press. But I would always caution players about what they say when speaking to journalists. It’s one thing to be confident but its quite another to be arrogant and provide “locker-room” ammunition for your opposition.

In one broad statement, Chelsea’s new German player Marko Marin went after Arsenal AND Manchester City (without actually mentioning City by name).

“I am not sure that Arsenal have played against a good team like us.

Fair enough Marko, but I’d wager the current title holders would have something to say about that and frankly so do Arsenal.

He went on, in my opinion to make matters worse. It’s clear by his comments there is some sort of issue between him and Arsenal LW Lukas Podolski. And when asked about him and his possible influence on the match he said this:

“And it will be more hard for Lukas. Will he be a threat? I think we have a very good defence. Our right-back, Branislav, he will do very well. It will be very hard for Lukas to play against him.”

There is more, but you get the point. Marin is a talented player. In pre-season he actually looked like a much better purchase than Eden Hazard. But he has yet to have any impact for Chelsea after picking up an injury and he happens to also slot behind Eden Hazard on the depth chart.

Marin has every right to up his team I would as I do my players, offer caution before you speak and possibly disrespect your opposition. In the end it is more times than not that players pay for those remarks.

That’s all for now. See you after the jump.

Stay Goonerish!

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