Morning all.
Who would have thought it would be Chelsea hot on our heels in the league as well as Man City and instead of Liverpool. Honestly, I wasn’t sure Arsenal would be top of the table at this stage of the season either. Yes, we had a great summer of transfers but often, especially in the case of overseas players, new guys take time to settle in plus, as each game came and went, another player was sidelined through injury.
Mosquera, Zubimendi and more recently Hincapie, have played like they’ve been at Arsenal for a few seasons rather than a few months. The so called Chelsea reject Madueke returned from injury against Bayern and caused the Germans a real problem, and when he smashed in his goal it felt like a big moment in his Arsenal career. The cross was perfect of course but I’ve seen chances like his fluffed. I would imagine he’s desperate to do something similar today against the club who gave up on him. I read someone that he rejected a move to Manchester Utd when he was younger, preferring to join PSV.
Zubimendi v Caicedo will be an interesting battle, a battle which will be key tomorrow as will nullifying Chelsea’s pace in attack. Calafiori and Timber will have their work cut out that’s for sure.
My money is on a central defensive pairing of Hincapie and Saliba because it makes sense. Our attacking unit is harder to guess. I’m not sure both Eze and Odegaard will start this one so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Arteta stick with Eze as he’s been superb form, nor would I be surprised to see Trossard on the left if he’s fit which is a possibility according to Arteta. Assuming Gyokeres, Havertz and Jesus are ruled out or at best on the bench, Merino is likely to play up top. No, I haven’t forgotten Rice, Saka and Raya who I’m 99.9% sure will start.
Mikel Arteta:
It’s a big game, it’s a big London derby, we’re going to play a really good opponent, and they are in really good form. We know the challenge, we know the opportunity that we have as well on Sunday, so we are fully prepared for it.
Like Arsenal, Chelsea had a very good game in midweek, beating Barcelona 3-0. The bigger picture of that game though was that for half the game, Barcelona were playing with ten men and it was during that period when Chelsea scored twice. I’m not knocking them, after all, it’s not Chelsea’s fault the Catalan club had a player sent off but surely it made life easier for them.
Previewing this weekend’s match, Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke said:
Boasting the highest XG in the Premier League this season, we will face a very attack-minded Chelsea side this time around. Elevated by some new and exciting young forwards, Enzo Maresca’s men will be ambitious in their approach whenever they get inside our half. It’s a quick attack, so the Blues tend to thrive best when there is space to run into. So, with that in mind we may want to avoid turning this into a thrilling, end-to-end basketball match. Defending a bit deeper than usual could be the right ploy here, as they have struggled to break down that type of tactic.
Teenage talent Estevao has to be respected. He can strike the ball beautifully off both feet and is one of the division’s best dribblers, ranking second behind Jeremy Doku with 3.71 successful dribbles per 90 minutes. Proving he can deliver the right pass too, he is also neck and neck with Bukayo Saka for chances created in open play. Left back Riccardo Calafiori will need to defend well against the 18-year-old.
Fast starts are something else we need to be watchful of. Chelsea have scored first in eight of their 12 Premier League games. In all competitions, Maresca’s men have actually opened the scoring in 12 consecutive games! So, keeping them quiet early on will be of paramount importance.
Chelsea’s weaknesses are at the back. They do not have a settled rearguard, and aside from their excellent left back Marc Cucurella, none of the defensive players have delivered consistent performances this season. Clever movement and slick interplay has the potential to cause them major issues. While their XG Against tally of 14.27 is good, Opta do suggest they have conceded more than three fewer goals than they should have done. They are yet to face any of the top four either.
I’m not into all the fancy terms like XG in the game, after all, the league isn’t decided on who creates the most clear cut chances, it’s about which club scores the goals to win games. It’s a bit like the set-piece debate, if they go in, who cares about the how? Not me for sure. I wouldn’t care if we were to win today from a scuffed shot which took a huge deflection off of Cucurella‘s backside. Or should that sentence be written the other way around?
As Arteta said in his press conference, this is a big game, after all, it’s a London derby. It’s a game which could be end to end with the talent on the pitch today and it’s not like Chelsea will entertain sitting back and defending. In theory, their tactics should suit us, just don’t get caught out on the break…
Right, enough waffling, enjoy the game…
Catch up in the comments.
Good day fellas. Hincapie starts for me. He’s a better passer out of the back with longer range, and a good ball winner. He’s also just as good defending as Mosquera, if not better. However either one would be more than adequate. Caicedo is good, but he’s no where near Zubimendi, as a proper #6. Let’s stop, one is technically and positionally sound, and the other relies on athleticism and gets pull out of position alot.
I really wish Arteta will really get adventurous and play 3 at the back, so that Odegaard could play in front of Rice and Zubimendi but behind Eze. That would really put pressure on their suspected defense and also allow us to really press the ball in the middle.
Absolutely agree re Caicedo and Zubimendi, no comparison imo. Both very good in their own right but Zubimendi has more about him than just physicality.
G’day Rico and all.
I suspect the real midfield battle will be between Caciedo and Rice. They are very similar in their playing style. Incidentally, we bid for Caciedo the window before before we bought Rice. Apparently we would have bought both but Caciedo went elsewhere.
Today’s ref needs to keep an eye on Cucarella, particularly at what he does off the ball.
As to your Odegaard/Eze question, I can’t see them playing together, Eze gets my vote for his scoring ability, Perhaps a cameo for Odegaard if all goes well.
Afternoon Cicero, it’s funny isn’t it as I don’t see there being a battle between Rice and Caciedo as imo, they are very different.
Eze for me too, in midfield though and not on the left.
Eze or Odegaard? I would play both when Odegaard is back,I suspect today Odegaard will be on the bench,hopefully to come on when the game is safe.
Sky have been hyping this all week,the Premier league is a multi billion business and they won’t want a one horse title race again. I just hope the ref/VAR don’t have too much influence.
Chelsea fans hate us so much. They think they are the top Premier league team in London.
Let’s put them in their place.
Afternoon Rico and afternoon Gooners, I can’t see Arteta moving away from what already been successful against Tottenham and Bayern, but I agree Cuccrella is a problem due to his constant fouling and simulation, fortunately he’ll be up against Saka and Timber so his playacting shouldn’t be anything other than irritating.
Chelsea are young, athletic and full of energy but they haven’t faced a team that can squeeze the life out of them yet and there isn’t anyone better than Arsenal for doing that.
ManCity just about got over the line yesterday but there’s cracks appearing in their facade and they’ll be desperate for Chelsea to do them a favour but I’m fairly confident that won’t be today.
I also think Arteta will eventually just as he did against West Ham before Odegaard suffered his injury..
Not looked to see who the ref is, just hope it’s not Gillet..
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Assistant Referees: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth Official: Sam Barrott
VAR: John Brooks
Assistant VAR: Eddie Smart
Limey, Sky can hype the match as much as they like but it still comes down to two teams on the pitch for ninety odd minutes.
Afternoon Kev, I was thinking the same about our formation. Why repair something which isn’t broken.
I can’t stand Cucurella, such a filthy player. Obviously so too but gets away with far too much.
Anthony Taylor is all rightish, but I prefer Timothy Taylor, he makes my favourite beer, Landlord Bitter. 😉