Arsenal could go top of the Premier League with a win over Chelsea this weekend. The only thing holding Mikel Arteta’s team below Tottenham Hotspur, whose erstwhile head coach Mauricio Pochettino is only now settling into life in the blue half of West London, is a lower goal total.
Preview (Chelsea vs. Arsenal)
The Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling was left out of Gareth Southgate’s most recent England squad. It infuriated the Blues supporters as the Three Lions advanced to Euro 2024 without him. But Chelsea supporters could have felt a tiny bit of appreciation for the England manager because Sterling’s most recent exclusion lit a fire under the attacker, who led his team to a convincing comeback victory over Burnley, who had just been promoted, two weekends ago.
Wilson Odobert broke the deadlock for the Clarets, but the Blues won four games in a row, including an own goal by Ameen Al-Dakhil, a penalty kick by Cole Palmer, a cross-goal attempt by Sterling, and a much-needed goal by Nicolas Jackson. Chelsea has won three straight games for the first time since Graham Potter’s final few weeks. They have also defeated Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham. However, their 11th-place status in the Premier League rankings is not exactly pleasing to the eye.
The costlyly assembled hosts could, however, continue their recent comeback by winning three straight Premier League games for the first time since October 2022. However, they have lost their last two home games in the top division to Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest by a combined score of 1-0, which ironically proved sufficient for Arsenal to break the Manchester City curse. Arsenal responded to a well-earned Champions League loss to Lens in spectacular fashion. Going into the international break, Arsenal was one of just two Premier League teams remaining unbeaten after eight games.
But since Arsenal’s opponents don’t play until Monday, they have the opportunity to conclude the weekend on top of the standings at Stamford Bridge, where they may record their first-ever four-game winning streak and clean sheet away from home in a Premier League season. Arsenal has won all three of their previous Premier League games at Stamford Bridge. A 3-1 victory over the Emirates in May made it six wins from seven against their blue-and-white rivals. The Gunners are the only team in the division to have a perfect defensive record on their travels thus far.
Team News
Wesley Fofana (knee), Christopher Nkunku (knee), Ben Chilwell (thigh), Romeo Lavia (ankle), Trevoh Chalobah (thigh), and Carter Chukwuemeka (knee) are all guaranteed to miss Chelsea’s match against Arsenal due to an ungodly number of injuries. The South American duo of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez need to acclimate to English conditions. Their positions on a severely injured squad shouldn’t be in jeopardy. None of them were wearing the national team uniform.
Although Saliba’s persistent toe issue has not proven to be too much for the Frenchman to handle. Trossard’s forced substitution at halftime against Man City has cast doubt on his future. No information has emerged regarding Saka’s health since he left the England camp just hours after arriving. As always, ACL casualty Julien Timber will watch from the sidelines. Arsenal seems to have finally found a winning recipe on home soil at Stamford Bridge. Arteta’s team may win in the second half thanks to a stronger bench.
Chelsea 1 – 2 Arsenal
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