Preview: Chelsea v/s Arsenal

Table toppers Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge today afternoon with Cesc Fabregas facing his former employers for the first time in what could prove to be a fascinating midfield battle

Arsene Wenger celebrates yet another landmark in his long career by taking the short trip to cross-town rivals Chelsea still awaiting his first 3 points over opposite number Jose Mourinho. His side is the only one to remain undefeated along with their opponents of today, although that record might be under some major threat at Stamford Bridge.

The Gunners have recently switched over to a 4-1-4-1 with Mikel Arteta / Mathieu Flamini sitting deep to protect the defense, with Mesut Ozil, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Alexis Sanchez and Santi Cazorla mixing up play behind new boy Danny Welbeck.

Recent knocks to Arteta, Jack Wilshere (who might be available which could switch Arsenal's play to a 4-2-3-1 and subsequently bench either of Chamberlain or Ozil) and Aaron Ramsey have been a blow to Wenger’s plans while Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, Mathieu Debuchy are long term absentees.

Injuries to Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta have left Wenger thin in midfield

Their opponents of the day will have to be tight at the back to contain the threats of Ozil, who might start on the left side of the midfield, tending to drift centrally whenever afforded space and time. The German’s talents come to the fore when he is positioned centrally but Wenger’s system requires him to start out on the left, switching positions with fellow midfielders to get away from their man markers and create space. Alexis Sanchez is another crucial player to their play, albeit a rather direct one. His dribbling and lethal finishing have seen him support Welbeck in the box while also involving with Chamberlain down the right hand side.


Although if the German does start centrally, his work rate will need to be higher considering he will have to track back to support his defense.

The hosts of the afternoon though are in good form, having dropped only 2 points all season that too at the home of champions Manchester City. Preferring a 4-2-3-1 currently, probably because of the lack of options in defensive midfield due to the injury to Brazilian Ramires, The Blues look well gelled two months into the campaign.

The goals are flowing courtesy of a certain Diego Costa, who has notched 8 in his 8 appearances in all competitions. Eden Hazard, Oscar and Willian should make the cut in behind Costa, with former Arsenal lynchpin Cesc Fabregas, who is facing his former team for the first time, pairing up with Nemanja Matic in front of the defense.

The key to stop the free flowing football from the Pensioners is surely to stop the supply to the lethal Costa, which looks difficult considering his ability to make those little runs in behind the central defenders. The lack of pace in the Arsenal backline will only help Chelsea’s cause.

Arsenal will have to quickly close down former player Cesc Fabregas every time he gets the ball

Tactically speaking, going in the game with just one defensive midfielder could be an error for Wenger’s side, considering the player (most likely to be Flamini) will have to deal with the rather mobile Oscar, not to mention the late runs of Fabregas. Man-marking either of these is difficult for Wenger’s men due to their ability to interchange positions and fill in for each other, which has made Chelsea a very dangerous proposition.

All in all, for Arsenal to get anything out of this fixture, Wenger needs to fix his defensive frailties, which could even mean playing a rather deeper line today to ensure a lack of space in behind, with front man Welbeck leading the charge from the off. Asking custodian Wojciech Szczesny to play just on the edge of the area to further reduce the space in behind might also help.

Playing on the counter at the Bridge, with a high tempo game off the ball, resulting into a lack of time on the ball for Chelsea’s creative players could be an ideal way to frustrate the hosts and in turn enhance their credentials as true title contenders.

Written by,

Aman Arora

Aman writes for 18 Yard Box and Goal India.

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