Arsenal will be looking to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat when they take on Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a midweek clash. This month has been very poor for Mikel Arteta on the results front, with losses to Palace, Brighton and Southampton- three very winnable games at first glance, hurting them badly in their quest to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.
Despite the Gunners’ poor run, Spurs and Manchester United have been in indifferent form themselves, meaning that CL qualification is still very much a possibility for Arteta’s men. They however have a tough fixture list to end the season, and first up in that batch of seven tricky games are Thomas Tuchel’s Blues, who come into this match on the back of fine wins over both Real Madrid (CL) and Palace (Cup).
The Blues were deserved winners at the Bernabeu and might have even pulled off a stunning comeback aggregate win had they been more clinical in the second leg. They also booked a spot in the League Cup final with a 2-0 win over Palace at Wembley, capitalising on two poor second half defensive errors from the Eagles as Reuben Loftus Cheek and Mason Mount got themselves on the scoresheet. The only blemish in that semi-final was perhaps the continued poor form of striker Romelu Lukaku, who missed a sitter at the end after coming off the bench.
The odds at Powerplay suggest that Chelsea are favourites for this clash and perhaps rightly so. The Blues and the Gunners have both had common opponents in the form of Palace and Southampton in their last three games but with contrasting results- Thomas Tuchel’s side won 2-0 and 6-0, while Mikel Arteta’s Gunners failed to score and were beaten 3-0 and 1-0 respectively.
Arsenal had their chances against Southampton, but the brilliance of Fraser Forster in goal allowed Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men to emerge 1-0 winners. Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe went the closest, but were both denied by the former Celtic keeper.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Gunners- three of their next four games are all against sides that, like them, are hoping to finish fourth in the league. Beating Chelsea will be a statement of intent from the Gunners, more so if they manage it in the absence of key players like Kieran Tierney and Thomas Partey.
Last five games (for AFC, most recent first)
Southampton 1-0 Arsenal
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton
Palace 3-0 Arsenal
Villa 0-1 Arsenal
Arsenal 0-2 Liverpool
The man with the whistle for this game is Jon Moss. Arsenal’s two games with him in the middle this campaign have seen them beat Brentford and draw with Brighton while Chelsea’s solitary clash under him was a 3-0 win over Palace back in August.
Chelsea also beat Arsenal 2-0 at the Emirates (goals from Lukaku & James) in the reverse fixture earlier this season and will be looking to complete a league double over their London rivals.