Champions League and Super Cup holders Chelsea will take on London rivals Arsenal on Sunday at the Emirates in the Premier League.
Both teams go into today’s fixture with contrasting fortunes. While Chelsea kicked off this season’s league campaign with a convincing 3-0 win against Crystal Palace, Arsenal were stunned by newly promoted Brentford.
Going into the fixture, Chelsea will be hoping to end their winless run against Arsenal as they have lost three and drawn one in their last four encounters.
The last time the Blues tasted victory over Arsenal was 29 December 2019 at the Emirates in a 2-1 comeback win. Since then, the Gunners have had the edge.
A 10-man Arsenal side held Chelsea to a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge and claimed a 2-1 win in the final of the FA Cup in the 2019/2020 season.
And last season, the Gunners won home and away, 3-1 at the Emirates and 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
If there is a chance of ending the winless streak against Arsenal, it is today’s tie as Mikel Arteta’s side have not looked convincing.
Speaking ahead of the game, Arteta said he does not expect anything different from Chelsea in terms of their approach to the game.
“Well, from Chelsea I expect what they’ve done over the last few years. They’re a top team full of world class players, with a great manager and they are the Champions of Europe.
“We expect a really competitive match. It’s what I expect about our team. Our fans they’re going to be supporting the team right from the beginning because they’ve been missed so much. We’re going to go there to win a football match.”
On whether there is a plan to stop Chelsea new signing Romelu Lukaku: “I don’t know if he’s going to play. We have a plan to stop what Chelsea do and a plan to do what we have to do to win the game.”
And what he expects from an Arsenal side that have been struggling, Blues boss Thomas Tuchel said: “In pre-season we saw the energy the stadium (Emirates) could produce.
“They had a bit of a rough start and from their perspective it can be a help that a big rival from within the city arrives. It can create a situation where they stick together and try to win their crowd over with a strong performance.
“So we should be prepared for the best Arsenal possible. They have a strong coach, strong team, strong signings, so we should prepare for the best Arsenal possible.”
Meanwhile Arteta has admitted that his COVID-positive contingent are “still very uncertain” for Sunday’s game, with Aubameyang and Willian set to be assessed while Lacazette and Alex Runarsson prepare to miss out.
The Gunners also remain without Gabriel, Thomas Partey and Eddie Nketiah through injury, while Martin Odegaard has arrived from Real Madrid on a permanent basis but will not feature just yet due to visa issues.
Arsenal also announced the arrival of Aaron Ramsdale on Friday evening, and he should be in contention to feature, but Bernd Leno will expect to retain the gloves for the time being.
In two huge boosts to the visitors, Lukaku and N’Golo Kantecould be given the green light to line up at the Emirates, with the latter aiming to shake off an ankle problem in time to be available.
Hakim Ziyech also has a chance of returning from a shoulder problem here, while Christian Pulisic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek – who would struggle to start anyway – have both tested positive for coronavirus.
Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell and Reece James all had to make do with spots on the bench last week, and it is difficult to see any member of the trio forcing their way back into the first XI for Sunday’s match.
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