Chelsea v Arsenal – it’s big!

Morning all.

The FA Cup draw did Arsenal a favour on Monday night by bringing out a home tie. Then, out of the pot came Wigan Athletic. The last time we faced Wigan in this competition was back in 2014 when a penalty shootout decided the result at the DW Stadium. We went on to lift the cup that year thanks to an Aaron Ramsey goal in extra time. What a weird final that was but the players showed great character to overturn a 2-0 deficit.

Arsene Wenger loved the FA Cup, or at least I think he must have. He certainly won a few! Seven in total during his time at Arsenal, two more than old red nose managed at Utd. I’d love for Mikel Arteta to double his tally this season and if the squad stays fit, healthy and injury free, then it’s doable. There is a long long way to go yet though.

Right now, the focus is on tonights League Cup semifinal first leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The other semi-final which took place last night with City winning 2-0.

Just a few weeks ago, Chelsea and Arsenal went head to head at Stamford Bridge in a Premier League fixture and the performance from Mikel Arteta’s side was pretty poor. Chelsea were in control until Caicedo received his marching orders on 38 minutes following a nasty challenge on Mikel Merino. Despite being down to ten men, the home team went ahead early in the second half from a corner. Ten minutes later, a Bukayo Saka cross was headed home by Mikel Merino and 1-1 was how it stayed. Putting things into perspective, both Gabriel and William Saliba were missing for that match, there was no Gabriel Jesus, Leandro Trossard or Kai Havertz either. Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Odegaard were on the and Riccardo Calafiori had to be replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly around the hour mark.

Even so, up against ten men, we could/should have been better…

Tonight, we face a team who will playing at home for the first time under new manager Liam Rosenior. Why is it we seem to play clubs who have a “new manager bounce” on their side? I know Rosenior used to run around for Reading FC for a couple of years but not until he was linked to Chelsea did I realise he’d gone into management. Anyway, he’s just 41 years old but a tactical genius apparently. We’ll see eh..

Arsenal’s Adrian Clarke on tonight’s opponents:

Liam Rosenior’s first game in charge at Stamford Bridge presents a tactical trip into the unknown. He is a versatile head coach who can happily switch between a back three and back four, using 3-4-2-1 on ten occasions this season with previous club Strasbourg. The most likely scenario is that he will not deviate from the 4-2-3-1 he inherited and used against Charlton Athletic last weekend. It is a shape which suits their personnel, especially out wide where he is spoilt for choice when it comes to talented wingers.

No matter who plays, Chelsea will raid down the flanks as a matter of course. In previous roles that has been a key part of Rosenior’s approach anyway, so with Pedro Neto, Alejandro Garnacho, Estevao and Jamie Gittens at his disposal, he will target wide areas and demand that they take on our full backs.

In our league meeting the Blues were aggressive and forceful. Looking to press us at every opportunity – even with ten men – they made it a hostile encounter. Will the new head coach follow that path? He does like his teams to press, but in a semi-final first leg we may see a little more pragmatism this time. Let’s see.

Set pieces will be important for Chelsea. Reece James clips lovely inswinging corners into the box from the left, as we found to our cost when Trevoh Chalobah scored against in late November from a near post flick. The England international is also a classy free kick taker, so showing discipline with our tackling is going to be important. With 12 set play goals to their name in the Premier League, dead balls will be a threat on Wednesday evening.

Chelsea’s main weaknesses are at the back. They do not have a settled rearguard, so partnerships and a lack of chemistry could be an issue when put under pressure. That is why we must show adventure inside the opposition half and flood their box with numbers every time get onto the front foot. The more chaos the Blues’ defenders have to deal with, the better.

Ten top-flight teams have a better expected goals against record than Chelsea, who have let in just under six fewer goals than the stats suggest they should have done. They have also gone seven games in all competitions without a clean sheet. I expect us to create chances and score in this first leg.

Christian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie, Riccardo Calafiori and Max Dowman are ruled out for this game, Mikel Arteta said in his press conference that William Saliba and Leandro Trossard are both doubts too so our defence is pretty much down to the bare bones. Too early for Marli Salmon to start a game?

Moises Caicedo is reported to be out of this game due to suspension after picking up his second booking of the tournament against Cardiff City. Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill remain absent due to injury. Malo Gusto, Cole Palmer and Reece James face late fitness tests.

With an opportunity to get to Wembley, will Mikel Arteta play his strongest side or will he continue in the same vein as previous rounds against Premier League opposition? Mind you, they were one off fixtures and at home. Will Kepa or David Raya be between the sticks? Considering Kepa was part of the group which got us to the semi-final, surely he’ll get the nod. Hopefully, the other players who have got us here will too. Personally, I hope to see Ebe Eze, Ethan Nwaneri, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino, Viktor Gyokeres, Ben White, Christian Norgaard, Gabriel Martinelli etc on the pitch.

Anyway, I hope for a really good game with the guys in red and white coming away with a win.

Catch up in the comments.