Arsenal V Chelsea

Arsenal V Chelsea

Monday, 27th December – 20:00 (GMT)
Venue: Emirates Stadium
TV Coverage: Sky Sports HD1

Arsenal

All the noises coming from the Arsenal camp has been about their lack of nerve and courage in the crunch encounters, with Emmanuel Eboue, Marouane Chamakh and captain Cesc Fabregas all uttering those same sentiments ahead of Monday’s heavyweight clash with title-rivals Chelsea, whom they’ve beaten just twice in their last eighteen competitive meetings with the capital giants.

Despite an impressive victory over Manchester City at Eastlands back in September – A win which had some of its merit tarnished thanks to City spending the majority of the clash with ten men – all many are interested in are those failed efforts at Anfield (Liverpool), Stamford Bridge (Chelsea) and, more recently, Old Trafford (Manchester United). It’s all good and well beating those far inferior to them in personnel and stature, but it’s the results obtained from the pivotal meetings with fellow title contenders which ultimately decide whether or not a team has the necessary credentials to go all the way. And the overriding opinion is that Arsenal, because of their lacklustre results against the top-flight’s elite, simply aren’t strong enough consistently, in every encounter, to be challenging.

Ironically, out of all the heavyweight clashes Arsenal have contested so far, their best performance came against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Gunners bossed that meeting, however once again we were given a lesson that raw strength and a solid set-up gets the job done more than free-flowing, technical football as the Men prevailed over the Boys – An all-too common occurrence these days.

While we shouldn’t ignore their previous efforts against noteworthy opponent’s this season, it’s definitely worth mentioning that Arsenal have now played all of their title rivals away from home and although they didn’t pick up as many points as Wenger would have hoped or liked, the fact they’re still heavily involved in this race for the title and have to face Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd all at home is a massive boost for morale. At least it would be had the Gunners got their own house in order. The Emirates hasn’t been anywhere near as formidable as it once was, with the likes of West Brom, Newcastle and Tottenham all tarnishing the Emirates’ good name, and have arguably made a visit to Arsenal less daunting.

The positive news for Arsenal fans comes in the form of a boost in the ranks, with Cesc Fabregas set to start from the off after featuring in the second half of Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United two weeks ago while Robin Van Persie, who has endured a miserable 2010 if truth be told, is also in contention although may have to make do with a place on the bench. Arguably the biggest decision of the lot for Wenger is whether to recall Lukasz Fabianski, with the Polish shot-stopper absent at Old Trafford as compatriot Wojciech Szczesny deputised. The latter fared well on his baptism of fire, and it could prove a smart move were Wenger to stick with the 20-year old, a new face up against a fierce rival of theirs who have dominated this fixture in recent campaigns.

Chelsea

After the start they originally made, having sprinted to the top of the table and at one stage appeared almost untouchable, few would have anticipated that this Boxing Day clash with fellow Londoner’s Arsenal would be perceived as ‘Make or Break’ for defending Barclay’s Premier League champions Chelsea. The Blues are going through their worst spell of form under Carlo Ancelotti, who’s future and commitment to the team has been up in the air for weeks now even though he insists he’s as committed as when he first joined the West-London outfit, whom he guided to a Premier League and FA Cup double in his first full season in charge.

Just one league victory in nearly two months has ultimately left Chelsea’s title defence hanging in the balance, although defeat wouldn’t end their hopes of retaining their title, not by a long shot. But it would give them a mountain to climb, especially with United already three points ahead of the Blues and boasting a game in hand. Any further slip-ups from Chelsea’s point of view really would be costly, although some would debate whether a loss at The Emirates would in fact be fatal – A mental blow more than anything else, as Chelsea’s record against the Gunners has been second to none in recent campaigns, so to lose now really would be a tell-tale sign of how emphatic their fall from grace, over such a short but crucial period, has been while it would also cast further doubts over their ability to retain their crown, none more so than in the dressing room.

If this were merely a blip, a trip to The Emirates would be the ideal tonic for Carlo Ancelotti and his players to quash any talk of disarray inside the Chelsea dressing room by recording a typically comprehensive win over the Gunners, who they’ve beaten in the previous four league meetings with an aggregate scoring of 11-1. Didier Drogba would normally be the Blue to lead by example, so often the driving force behind a Chelsea victory over locals Arsenal. But the Ivorian, despite top-scoring for his team with eight goals, has been a far cry from the former Drogba, the one which was in sublime form right at the very beginning of the season, when almost single-handily destroying the league’s mediocre teams. Reports suggest he contracted Malaria back in September and has been playing within himself ever since. It has shown, with his unsuccessful spot-kick attempt away to Tottenham last time out further evidence that when Carlo Ancelotti doesn’t have his big names in tip-top condition – The Terry, Lampard, Essian and Drorgba’s – Chelsea are an average side, an ageing one as well.

The experience within the Chelsea dressing room has previously been the fulcrum to keeping the team strong, and where many believe their success in recent years has derived from. However, experience is all good and well when the players aren’t over the hill. John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba are all either in their 30′s or closing in, and although Ancelotti has tired his best to blood through some of the club’s youth products, their dismal run of form, which has derived mainly from their lack of influential figures, is perhaps proof that this Chelsea team is running on borrowed time. And with owner Roman Abramovich now reluctant to reinvest heavily in the squad, supporters are right to be concerned about the current state of affairs at the club, although a fully-fit Chelsea squad would be a fierce title rival for anyone. The problem being that with ageing players, keeping a squad fully-fit throughout the whole of the campaign is virtually impossible.

Fortunately for Chelsea’s under-fire manager, who surely must be getting fed up with saying those same old words: ‘we’re in a DIFFICULT MOMENT’, the Italian will welcome back one of the club’s most iconic figures in 20-goal-a-season midfielder Frank Lampard, who hasn’t started a competitive match for the Chelsea first-team since the end of August against Stoke City. If anyone is capable of providing some inspiration for a New Year arrival then it’s Frank Lampard, one of the biggest big-game players this country has ever seen. He lacks match practice, but his physical conditioning will have come on leaps and bounds for this two-week break, with Chelsea’s home clash with United last Sunday postponed due to the weather. Expect much of the pre-match focus to fall on the England midfielder even though Didier Drogba has been the headline maker more times than not in previous meetings, scoring 13 in 13 appearances against Arsenal.

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Last 5 Matches

Arsenal

Premiership: Manchester United 1-0 Arsenal
Champions League: Arsenal 3-1 Partizan Belgrade
Premiership: Arsenal 2-1 Fulham
Carling Cup: Arsenal 2-0 Wigan Athletic
Premiership: Aston Villa 4-2 Arsenal

Chelsea

Premiership: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Chelsea
Champions League: Marseille 1-0 Chelsea
Premiership: Chelsea 1-1 Everton
Premiership: Newcastle United 1-1 Chelsea
Champions League: Chelsea 2-1 MSK Zilina

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Head-to-Head

2010/2011: Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal

2009/2010: Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal
2009/2010: Arsenal 0-3 Chelsea
2008/2009: Arsenal 1-4 Chelsea
2008/2009: Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal
2007/2008: Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal
2007/2008: Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea
2006/2007: Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
2006/2007: Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal
2005/2006: Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea
2005/2006: Chelsea 1-0 Arsenal

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2010/2011 Premier League Statistics

Arsenal

League Position: 2nd
Win-Draw-Lose: 10-2-5 (Home: 5-0-3)
Form: WLWWL (Home: WWLLW)
Goal Difference: 34-19 (Home: 19-10)
Top Scorer: Samir Nasri (8)

Chelsea

League Position: 4th
Win-Draw-Lose: 9-4-4 (Away: 3-3-3)
Form: LLDDD (Away: WLLDD)
Goal Difference: 31-12 (Away: 13-8)
Top Scorer: Didier Drogba (8)

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Match Prediction: Arsenal to WIN – 2.63 Bet365

Over the years, Chelsea’s raw strength, physical and aerial advantage and experience has proved far too strong for Arsenal’s young guns. Their defence has been too sturdy to break – Arsenal have scored just one in the last four meetings – while their aggression going forward – Scoring eleven in the last four meetings – has overwhelmed an Arsenal side who haven’t had a strong, reliable defensive set-up for years now, and still don’t till this very day.

We’re banking on the wind changing on Monday evening. With Chelsea currently well out of sorts, severely lacking in confidence, despite the rallying calls from John Terry claiming his side’s performance away to Spurs last time out was encouraging, Arsenal won’t have a bigger window of opportunity for a long time. Physically, and we haven’t thought this for a long time, I reckon Arsenal will have the edge. Perhaps not in outright strength, but in endurance definitely and with Arsenal likely to dominate possession, manoeuvring the Chelsea defence to their liking and making the Blues work tirelessly throughout the whole 90 minutes – Nasri, Fabregas and Arshavin constantly keeping that Chelsea defence on their toes, that endurance advantage may well prove key.

The return of Frank Lampard is a massive boost for Chelsea, though we doubt it will be enough to raise the team’s game, certainly not right from the off. The return of Cesc Fabregas is more decisive in my opinion, a player who there shouldn’t be any concerns with over his fitness and the sharpness in his game.

This encounter has been manufactured for Arsenal’s liking in my eyes, so if they can keep their discipline, their shape at the back, their fortitude and nerve in midfield and their composure in front of goal; a rare victory over their nemesis could very well be in the offing.

Match Odds:

Arsenal – 2.63 Bet365
Draw – 3.30 SkyBet
Chelsea – 2.88 Boylesports

First Goalscorer Odds:

Arsenal

Marouane Chamakh – 6/1
Robin Van Persie – 6/1
Samir Nasri – 15/2
Andrei Arshavin – 8/1
Cesc Fabregas – 8/1
Theo Walcott – 9/1
Tomas Rosicky – 14/1
Jack Wilshere – 16/1
Denilson – 25/1
Emmanuel Eboue – 25/1
Alex Song – 25/1
Laurent Koscielny – 33/1
Sebastien Squillaci – 33/1
Bacary Sagna – 50/1
Gael Clichy – 66/1

Chelsea

Didier Drogba – 5/1
Nicolas Anelka – 7/1
Salomon Kalou – 15/2
Frank Lampard – 8/1
Florent Malouda – 9/1
Michael Essien – 14/1
Ramires – 20/1
John Terry – 28/1
Jose Bosingwa – 33/1
Ashley Cole – 33/1
Branislav Ivanovic – 33/1

All odds with BetFred.

Arsenal V Chelsea

Kick-off: Sunday 29th November – 16:00 GMT

Venue: The Emirates

Arsenal

League Position: 3rd

Recent Form: WDWWL 

Arsenal appeared to be in cruise control until they met Sunderland over the weekend. After previously winning six of their last seven games in the league, Sunderland abruptly ended their decent run of results with a stunning 1-0 victory. Now it’s a time for the Arsenal players to show their fighting spirit and some bounce back ability as their first defeat of the season took them head first into another, straight off the back of it. Will the Gunners make it back-to-back defeats for the second time this season or will they make an immediate return to form with a hard fought win over the current league leaders?

We’re inclined to think the former as Arsenal were pretty poor at the weekend. In the absence of Robin Van Persie, Eduardo keenly stepped up but did next to nothing to cover over the void left by the Dutch play-maker. Van Persie’s off the ball movement and trickery on the ball, in combination with a lethal cross and finish, is something Eduaro doesn’t posses right now and, without Van Persie, Arsenal will, and have already have to some extent, struggle, especially as their next best, Nicklas Bentnder, is still out injured, also.

Arsene Wenger is somewhat fortunate that, although his best attacker is out for some time, this game with Chelsea is at The Emirates, home of the Gunners. Arsenal have pitted their wits against both Manchester outfits already this season, ending up on the losing side on both occasions, however, they were both in Manchester, so this home fixture will be welcomed with open arms by the Arsenal fans. That doesn’t mean the three points are a foregone conclusion, not by any means, but if Arsenal are to beat one of the ‘Big Four’ at present, without Van Persie, then surely their best chance of doing so will come at home.

At The Emirates this season, Arsenal have been prolific, maintaining a 100% winning record up till this point. However, Tottenham have been their only real test at home, and even that was somewhat of an anti-climax, with the Gunners running out comfortable 3-0 winners. This really will be a huge test for Arsenal at a venue where they’ve been more than comfortable in front of goal, scoring 20 thus far. In return, Arsenal have conceded just four goals, so they really are a tidy little outfit at The Emirates, which is just as well considering they will be missing their biggest asset.

However, Arsenal do have too many BIG negatives going against them. The first being the absence of Robin Van Persie, which we’ve mentioned on half-a-dozen occasions already. The second being their weekend demise at Sunderland. A result like that can only hinder the team spirit, whilst their lack of fire-power in the final was clearly evident. We still fancy the likes of Arshavin & Cesc Fabregas, to carve out decent goalscoring opportunities but the omen of scoring perhaps the winning goals could be burdened with their midfielder’s. Arshavin & Fabregas have been their most prolific in the middle, with the latter scoring six for the season and Arshavin on four. Also, Arshavin did score a superb goal at Old Trafford, whilst he put four past Liverpool last season, and he doesn’t tend to shy away from the big encounters.

Chelsea

League Position: 1st

Recent Form: LWWWW

Carlo Ancelotti must be very happy with his squad and supremely confident of his talented squad getting yet another set of three points and their third successive win over a ‘Big Four’ team as he takes his Chelsea team across London to The Emirates. With their match day opponents losing at the weekend, Chelsea are now the inform side in the league and only a win will do now as they aim to keep up the winning trend.

Top of the Premiership, a five point cushion over their closest pursuers, safely through to the next round of the Champions League, as group winners. Quite literally, everything is going right for Carlo Ancelotti and Chelsea right now. A win over the Gunners would be so significant in so many ways. Not only would it take them to 3/3 against top four opposition but it would also see them stretch away from their London rivals, with a victory taking them eleven points clear of Arsenal.

We did mention earlier that Chelsea are a team on fire at present and their demolition job of Wolves last Saturday just epitomised their current form. Chelsea stormed to a 4-0 win, one which should have been a whole lot bigger, but the win now means Chelsea have won four on the spin. However, not only have they been winning games for fun but they’ve let rip in front of goal, scoring 14 goals in their last four games, averaging nearly four goals a game. In fact, the only team they haven’t put four past of late was Manchester United, which could actually be seen as a small negative.

Another small dent in the Chelsea express is that just one of their four wins in a row has come on the road, and Chelsea have had some away issues in recent months. The blues’ struggled at both Wigan Athletic (3-1) and Aston Villa (2-1), with Chelsea well below par in both. They did end their baron away run with a victory over Bolton but Bolton have been terrible in recent weeks so that was far from a surprising result and Chelsea’s away hoodoo could strike again at The Emirates against another tough opposition.

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

Arsenal W: 2 Chelsea W: 4 Draws: 4

Chelsea have generally faired better in the London Derby against the Gunners. In their last five visits to Arsenal, Chelsea have lost just once, whilst managing to victories, their most recent coming in a 4-1 battering last season. However, that thumping did come at the latter end of last season when Arsenal had nothing at all to play for, league wise, whilst there will be more at stake this time around with the season still very young.

Arsenal’s last success over Chelsea came two seasons ago in a narrow 1-0 victory, and that is Arsenal’s only win over the Blues’ in the last five meetings on Arsenal soil.

Match Verdict:- Draw – 2.85 Expekt

We will sit on the fence with this one, with several factors putting us off betting on either side. Chelsea are by far and away the inform side now after Arsenal lost at the weekend, but The Emirates should provide the Gunners with a safety blanket and it should even the playing field. Arsenal still have several quality players which can turn any game on it’s head but Chelsea are on fire at current and will take some stopping. We can’t see this being a dull 0-0 draw but goals aren’t all that popular, either. Cesc Fabregas does have a knack of scoring in the big games and he might be a fun small stake punt on what will be a tight, nervous affair between two London rivals.

Match Odds:

Arsenal – 2.75 SkyBet

Draw – 3.40 Boylesports

Chelsea – 2.85 Expekt

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Cesc Fabregas Anytime Goalscorer – 4.30 WilliamHill