Premier League: Arsenal Have More Than London Pride at Stake 

Arsenal vs Chelsea

Arsenal welcome Chelsea to the Emirates on Tuesday for a top flight Clash of the Titans, but both London Giants are in danger of being felled by a different foe.     

The Gunners’ title hopes became significantly slimmer last Wednesday when they were dismantled by Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. That result closed the gap at the top to two points and the Sky Blues had two games in hand, the first away to Fulham on Sunday. On the night Arsenal lost to City, Chelsea lost 2-0 at home to Brentford to make it five defeats on the bounce so Premier League: Arsenal vs Chelsea is a chance for both teams to get back to winning ways.

The problem is that neither team will be full of confidence. After leading the league for so long the Gunners are now outsiders and their fans must fear seeing the Sky Blues towering above them.

And Chelsea are beating themselves!

They can only dream of a second place disappointment, the Blues are in the bottom half of the table, currently in 12^th and dropping like a stone.

It’s going to be a nervy Emirates on Tuesday.   

Talking Points

Can Gunners get back on the winning trail?  

Arsenal’s visit to Manchester City was a tough gig if ever there was one and nobody can criticise them for the 4-1 outcome. Mikel Arteta’s side started the month in positive mood, beating Leeds United 4-1, but they followed that up with three draws, against Liverpool, West Ham United and Southampton to open the door wide enough for City to force open.

The Gunners biggest problems have been at the back where they are missing centre back William Saliba badly, conceding 11 goals from the last four games. Arteta started with Oleksandr Zinchenko at left back against Manchester City and there is a case for bringing in Kieran Tierney and slotting Zinchenko in midfield against the Blues. Up front Arsenal have been impressive all season, with Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and particularly Gabriel Martinelli in great form. Martinelli has scored four in the last eight games and 15 for the campaign and he will be the Gunners’ biggest threat again.      

Arsenal must win this game to keep the pressure on Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s side played Fulham on Sunday and picked up a 2-1 win to go top with six games to play.

Goal shy Blues are getting worse

The pre-match Arsenal vs Chelsea news on the Blue side has been dominated by the increasing likelihood of Mauricio Pochettino taking over as head coach at Stamford Bridge. And that is about as good a distraction as the Chelsea fans can hope for, as the action on the pitch has been painful to watch. Okay, nobody really expected them to beat Real Madrid in the Champions League but Los Blancos strolled through, winning both legs 2-0. In the Premier League Frank Lampard’s first game ended in a 1-0 defeat to Wolves but the signs were there already, as Chelsea only managed one shot on target. They followed that up with two home defeats, to Brighton and Brentford, two teams with modest expectations but a higher league position.  

Yes, they have problems in defence, with injuries to Reece James and Marc Cucurella, and Martinelli could have a productive evening, but Chelsea have to figure out a way to score, and the absence of Saliba in Arsenal’s defence should give the likes of Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling and Joao Felix a chance. Whether they can take it or not is an entirely different question.        

History

Well, it’s 32 to 27 to the Gunners in the head to heads with Chelsea in the Premier League era. And even though the Blues have been the more successful side over the past few seasons, Arsenal have won the last three including a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in November as Gabriel scored the only goal of the game. 

The Arsenal vs Chelsea betting odds back a Gunners win and, while they have hit the skids recently they should be able to outplay the free-falling Blues.     

Betting Tip

At 1.62 to win the hosts are strong favourites to pick up a vital three points, while Chelsea are at SBOTOP odds of 4.28 and the draw is priced at 3.64.  

I just have a nagging doubt. This is a derby after all; and can Chelsea really lose their first six games in the latest Lampard reign? Arsenal will be anxious to get a win and they may have to be patient, while the Blues will be desperate to score their second goal from the last six games.      

 

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