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Plenty of things have changed since Arsenal beat Chelsea in the FA Cup last season. The Blues are currently fifth in the 2020-21 Premier League table, with two wins in five games, while the Gunners are rooted in 15th place and without a victory in seven matches.
The London Derby will be played behind closed doors, but Frank Lampard's side start off as the favourites. That is because, their poor form apart, Arsenal are going through tough times, with eyebrows being raised over their transfer signings and on-field discipline.
Faced with the unthinkable prospect of relegation, Mikel Arteta is expected to bring in new faces in the January transfer window. However, before that, Arsenal need to get a positive result against Chelsea on Boxing Day.
On that note, here's a look at five players from either team to watch out for in this game.
#5 Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
Although Edouard Mendy has kept his tenth clean sheet for Chelsea in 29 fewer games when compared to Kepa Arrizabalaga, the Senegalese still has lots of room for improvement.
In recent games, the 28-year-old is starting to show some weaknesses. For instance, in the game against Everton, Mendy clattered with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and conceded a soft penalty, from which Gylfi Sigurdsson's scored from the spot. That goal turned out to be the match-winner, costing Chelsea all three points.
Speaking about Mendy's form, Gary Neville, former Manchester United defender, opined that:
“The first six games he had five clean sheets, but in those six games he only had, I think, eight shots on his goal. What we’ve seen now in the last few games is mistakes starting to build, and he needs a mistake-free night.”
While Arsenal do not seem to possess much goalscoring threat at the moment, the likes of Bukayo Saka or Nicolas Pepe could cause trouble should Mendy not learn from his recent mistakes.
#4 Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
In his first start in many months, Gabriel Martinelli had to be substituted in the second half of Arsenal's defeat to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup.
Many fans were worried that like Thomas Partey, Martinelli was rushed back too soon from his injury and could now miss many more games. Thankfully, Martinelli has revealed that he is feeling fine, and it now seems that the youngster could play in the derby against Chelsea.
Months before Martinelli's long-term knee injury, the Brazilian scored a brilliant solo goal against the Blues. That goal was voted Arsenal's Goal of the Season in the 2019-20 campaign.
Given the current lack of form among the senior players, the Arsenal faithful are definitely hoping that Martinelli is fit to play against Chelsea and bring about a similar influence as he did previously.
#3 Willian (Arsenal)
It will be the first time Willian will play against his former club Chelsea since he signed for Arsenal in the summer.
However, the Brazilian is currently a shadow of his former self; in 12 Premier League games for Arsenal, he only has three assists, with two of them coming in the Gunners' opening day victory over Fulham.
Speaking about Willian, Tony Adams criticised Arsenal's recruitment policy by saying:
“That’s lazy recruitment for me. This is a straightforward agent recommendation, he’s got the same agent as the sports director (Edu). So it’s an easy option for him. Three-year contract, there we go. I think it’s really poor recruitment."
Willian certainly hasn't lived up to expectations at Arsenal, but he knows Chelsea inside out. Despite the player's indifferent form, Arteta could be tempted to call upon the 32-year-old's experience and name him in the starting eleven against the Blues.
The Brazilian could be one player to watch out for, but at this stage, the Arsenal faithful are pretty sure that he is a wrong buy for the club.
#2 Timo Werner (Chelsea)
With eight goals and five assists, Timo Werner is Chelsea's top scorer in all competitions this season. The German has also started every Premier League game, and Lampard is certainly going to name the 24-year-old in his starting eleven against Arsenal too.
Although Werner last scored in November, he has had three assists in his last six games, which shows that he is beginning to adapt to the demands of English football.
According to BBC Sport, Werner has produced the most shots for Chelsea (36) and boasts a shot accuracy of 67% this season. Together with Tammy Abraham, the two forwards have racked up a total of nine Premier League goal for the Blues this season.
Currently, Chelsea have scored 29 goals, almost 2.5 times that of Arsenal (12). While Werner hasn't scored in nine games in all competitions, Lampard is backing his striker to find the net soon, saying in this regard:
"As a striker, you want to be scoring regularly, as he has done in his career. But at the same time, every striker has moments where the ball doesn't drop for you for whatever reason."
Playing against Arsenal will be one of the best opportunities for the Chelsea striker to rediscover his scoring form.
The Gunners are nowhere near their best and have put up multiple lacklustre displays in the Premier League this season. So Werner could make the best of this chance to prove his critics wrong.
#1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal)
It's another big game which means Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could step up like he did against Manchester United.
The Arsenal forward has scored twice in his last two Premier League games, albeit one of them was an own goal. If Aubameyang recovers in time from his calf strain, it will be a huge boost for the Gunners.
The North London club have been extremely reliant on Aubameyang since his arrival from Borussia Dortmund in January 2018. That is because, Aubameyang has scored 75 goals in 124 appearances for Arsenal.
He may be struggling for goals this season, but the Arsenal captain is still a key player for his faltering team.
Mikel Arteta will be eager to welcome Aubameyang back from injury, and this upcoming game against Chelsea could provide a test of the player's ability to inspire his side.
