It’s going to be a thrilling Saturday for the football fans with a lot of exciting fixtures but the main attention will be in the mouth-watering London derby as Arsenal and Chelsea go head to head at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal overcame a slow start to the season with three consecutive victories to find themselves fourth on the table.
The Blues, on the other hand, started the season on a bright note by winning the first three matches but dropped points in their last two games. As the two fierce rivals desperate for a win to keep their campaign moving here are the five interesting things to look forward ahead of the clash.
#5 Will Conte start Cesc Fabregas?
The Spaniard has made just three substitute appearances since Conte took the helm, as the Italian has preferred Nemanja Matic alongside the dynamism of N’Golo Kante. However, the fans were really inspired by the World Cup winner's performance after he scored twice against Leicester in the third round of the EFL Cup in midweek.
There is no denying the fact that Fabregas is one of the best midfielders in the Premier League but Conte is really concerned with the Catalan playmaker’s defensive abilities and recalls the worst stat (Chelsea conceded 53 goals last season) every time when the questions were poured in favour of the Spaniard.
Unlike Kante and Matic, Fabregas offered more creativity in midfield against the Foxes and easily unlocked the defence with his incisive through balls and wide passes . It will be very interesting to see whether the reluctant Conte is really convinced with the 29-year-old’s performance at the King Power Stadium and gives him the much-needed start against his former club.
#4 Can the Chelsea defence come out on top?
At Juventus and Italy, Antonio Conte had Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli, arguably the three best centre backs in the game and the trio played a huge part in the team’s success. However, in West London, he didn’t implement the 3-5-2 formation and stuck with 4-1-4-1 where the team kept just one clean sheet and conceded six goals in the last four matches.
There is no denying the fact that either the system or the defence needs to be altered as both David Luiz and Garry Cahill looked jaded and disorganised at the King Power Stadium.
The Gunners haven’t scored a single goal against Chelsea in the last six encounters and this would be the best chance for Arsene Wenger’s men to make the most out of the lacklustre Chelsea defence. With already six goals in the last four matches, Conte needs to address the shambolic defence which was ripped apart for fun at times against Liverpool and Leicester City
#3 Can Diego Costa continue his good run of form?
The Brazilian is turning out to be a nightmare for the opposition defence with his clever runs in behind the backline in recent times. Costa has been in stupendous form, scoring five goals in as many Premier League games.
Usually, Costa plays with more aggression but when it comes to Arsenal he mixes aggression with all kinds of mischievous activities. Without any doubt, Costa will look to wind up the opposition defence in every possible way and the former QPR manager Harry Redknapp believes that the home team will be finding it difficult to stop the 27-year-old striker.
"When he is focused, he has got that great ability of bending his runs brilliantly and timing his changes of direction to create space. These days, he is looking like the kind of world beater he can be and Arsenal have it all on to keep him quiet if he turns up at Emirates Stadium on Saturday in that kind of mood” Redknapp wrote in the Standard Column.
#2 Can Arsenal maintain their discipline?
When the emotions and stakes run high, Arsene Wenger’s men always lose control as they have been shown four red cards in the last five matches. Arsenal midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlin has urged his team-mates to maintain discipline when they face Chelsea on Saturday.
It’d be nice to keep 11 men on the pitch against Chelsea this time round,” Oxlade-Chamberlain told Arsenal Player. “I know it sounds funny but generally speaking in the last few games against them, it’s always a big clash with a lot of emotions and maybe some mind games.”
The Gunners had players sent off in both their meetings last season and also in a 6-0 hammering at Stamford Bridge in Arsene Wenger’s 1000th game in charge of the club in 2014.
#1 Can Arsenal break their voodoo?
Arsenal went undefeated in the Premier League against their London rivals from September 1995 to August 2005 but are now on the other side of the things with Chelsea retaining bragging rights since 2011. Even when Chelsea had one of the worst seasons last time, the Gunners proved that they are flat track bullies as they capitulated to the Blues on both the occasions.
After Claudio Ranieri's Chelsea defeated the Gunners at the Champions League in 2004, from then on Arsene Wenger has won just 5 of those 26 meetings and lost 16 including a humiliating 6-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge in his 1000th game in charge of Arsenal.
The Frenchman who is celebrating two decades at Arsenal this week looks to end the jinx by defeating Antonio Conte’s men on Saturday. Moreover, this fixture is billed as the contest between Arsenal’s attack and Chelsea’s vulnerable defence, therefore the headline result in favour of the Gunners will be on the cards only if they cope with the stresses and strains at the packed Emirates Stadium.
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