Arsenal welcome Chelsea to The Emirates this afternoon in an absolutely massive game in the Premier League title race, as they seek to restore their 5 point lead at the top. Our recent league form has been poor, but the resounding win away at Tottenham last time out has injected new optimism into the Gunners faithful. The next step is to now display their technical prowess, to go with the strong mentality they displayed last week, and re-establish themselves as the league’s top performers, against a strong Chelsea team.
Areas of encouragement
The performances of both Viktor Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze has provided new hope that the two big money signings from last Summer’s transfer window are in fact the real deal and they be looking to further those credentials against Chelsea, which I personally find very encouraging and exciting!
Areas of concern
Since the turn of the year, we’ve not really put a real top side to bed in any way shape or form, dropping points against several teams and generally not quite looking our best. The two exceptions are the two League Cup Semi Final games against Chelsea so hopefully we can carry that form into today’s game and really show what we’re made of and send a message to Manchester City.
What I’d love to see
A strong performance and also a brave performance. We’ve looked very reserved in these big games recently, with an apparent ‘don’t lose it’ mentally infecting every performance, so I’d really love to see a performance that shows that we’re going out to win the game and are not as pre-occupied with trying not to lose it.
What I’d hate to see
Another drab, negative performance would be a real tough one to swallow. That would do the exact opposite of the above and give further encouragement to those chasing us. We can’t let this slip now, time to show our mettle.
Lineup and Team News
I’m expecting a very similar lineup to the one against Tottenham. In fact, I’m expecting that exact team to lineup today! With a week off and the returning players, such as Kai Havertz not ready to start, I see no reason to change it.
Predicted lineup:
Raya
Timber
Saliba
Gabriel
Hincapie
Zubimendi
Rice
Eze
Saka
Gyokeres
Trossard
Substitutes:
Arrizabalaga
Mosquera
Calafiori
Lewis-Skelly
Norgaard
Odegaard
Havertz
Martinelli
Jesus
PREDICTION
This is tough, it really is. I’m going for a narrow 1-0 win. I hope my nerves can take it!!!