HomeTeams - PLArsenalChelsea vs Arsenal Preview | Team News, Stats & Key Men

Chelsea vs Arsenal Preview | Team News, Stats & Key Men

These two were seen as the favourites for the title before the season started, but Manchester City have clearly been the best team to date. This weekend is huge for both Arsenal and Chelsea as the former need to do better in big matches, while the latter have been abysmal at times in the opening five matches. Jose Mourinho has remained confident in his own abilities, but a failure to win on Saturday will see the pressure increase on the Portuguese manager. Arsene Wenger hasn’t had a good record against the Chelsea manager, but a win in the Community Shield will give him confidence going into this weekend.

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Chelsea have had a poor start to the season and might be suffering from complacency. Last season, they were excellent but they have struggled in all five matches to date. At times they have looked like one of the worst Chelsea sides in recent history. Jose Mourinho is normally effective at organising his sides, but they have currently conceded more than any other side. The problems at the club look like they aren’t going to be easy to fix, and if they don’t improve soon, they might struggle to finish in the top four, with the title already looking like a step too far. That is incredible given how good the same side was just four months ago.

Arsenal have had a solid start to the season after a disappointing opening day defeat to West Ham at the Emirates. Many believe that they could go on and challenge for the title, but there still seems to be a lack of organisation at times in their defensive set up. The signing of Petr Cech will be a huge plus as the season progresses as he has the quality and experience to help Arsenal in the big games. He will be returning to Stamford Bridge on Saturday and will want to put in a great performance to help his new side to three points.

In the Community Shield, Arsenal managed to beat Chelsea 1-0 thanks to an Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain goal. Meanwhile in the corresponding match from last season, Chelsea were 2-0 winners with goals from Eden Hazard and Diego Costa. The Community Shield was the first time that Wenger had got the better of Mourinho in 14 attempts, but it will be interesting to see if that win has given Arsenal confidence going into the early kick off on Saturday.

Interesting Stats

  • In their match against Stoke, Arsenal recorded the record number of shots (29) in a single game this season.
  • No team with Chelsea’s record in the first five matches of a Premier League season has finished higher than third.

Key Men

Hazard

Eden Hazard was clearly the best player in the Premier League last season, but he has struggled in his first few matches this season. In the week, he missed a penalty in the Champions League and he looks a shadow of the player that ran away and dominated the league last season. However, the Belgian is still arguably the most talented player in the league and like Chelsea, it’s unlikely that his poor form is going to continue for much longer. He has only managed to get one assist so far and has struggled to have an impact in the final third, which has affected his team’s form as the Belgian is integral to the way they play. At the weekend, he could return to form as he relishes the big matches, and he will want to make a match winning contribution against a rival side. The winger scored in this fixture last season, which will give him confidence going into the match. Pedro and Willian are set to miss out, which makes Hazard even more important to the side.

Cazorla

The Arsenal midfield is one of the most competitive positions in the league with Arsene Wenger having a lot of options available to him. The first name on his team-sheet is Santi Cazorla, who has been excellent since he joined the club in 2012. The Spaniard has been in great form early in the season, displaying his ability to dictate games and make Arsenal a very dangerous attacking side. He is an brilliant passer of the ball and he is capable of playing defence-splitting balls, which could cause Chelsea danger this weekend. The Chelsea defence has looked shaky so far, and Cazorla has the ability to get the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott in behind them. Arsenal have a lot of pace in the attacking areas of the pitch and Cazorla is key in making that an asset.

Team News

Willian and Pedro will both be missing for the home side with a hamstring and thigh problem respectively. Meanwhile Falcao is a doubt with a knee injury. Thibaut Courtois will be missing until December, which gives Asmir Begovic the chance to continue in goal for the Champions.

Arsenal were hit with devastating news this week that Jack Wilshere will be missing for a number of weeks. He joins Tomas Rosicky and Danny Welbeck on the long term injury list at the Emirates Stadium.

Betting

If you think that Chelsea will stop the rot and beat Arsenal this weekend, you can get odds of 23/17 with Bwin here. If you think that Arsenal will win, then William Hill are offering odds of 11/5. Or if you are backing the draw, you can get 12/5 with Bet365.

Verdict

It’s going to be an interesting match to assess both sides as Chelsea are normally excellent in big matches under Mourinho, but the side are lacking in confidence. Meanwhile Arsenal struggle in big matches, but they will be confident given the poor performances that Chelsea have put in this season. The pace in the Arsenal attack will cause Chelsea a lot of problems. Chelsea need Diego Costa and Eden Hazard to return to form quickly as neither are contributing much to the side at the moment. I think it will be a draw and that Chelsea will once again disappoint.

Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

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