We all Gooners have seen it, in our home and theirs, sometimes we just stood by and watched as Chelsea beat us not with their strength but with their mind and their spirits to win the fixture. They’ve always been one step ahead of us.
The rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal were not because of the strengths of the squad but the heat that existed between both the managers at that time, which psychologically impacted the perception towards the performances of both the teams.
Apart from these inconvenient facts, Arsenal always matched the strength of Chelsea and sometimes was the favourite to win the fixture too.
Apart from Arsenal’s victory in last year’s community shield, Chelsea has always had an upper hand in recent years, even Arsene Wenger confronted in the press conference praising Chelsea’s side having a strong squad for the last ten years, which made them dominant.
But not anymore insisted Arsene Wenger with a confident smile, as he claimed that Arsenal is no more inconvenient against the Chelsea side. He claimed Arsenal will have the beginning of a new era when they beat Chelsea, at Emirates stadium this weekend.
The lack of discipline and other psychological factors to the game as Wenger claims led to the defeat against Chelsea, in the last two premier league fixtures, where Arsenal didn’t manage to keep 11 men for full 90 mins of the match. This time Wenger was confident and claimed that this won’t be the case this time.
Above all, it’s the discipline in the game that is pulling Arsenal to success so far this season, in this new era, as Wenger claims it. Arsenal is now having a bit more balanced squad and is getting used to the environment of achieving positive results, progress and consistency.
To the fans, Arsene Wenger’s show of confidence and Convenience while talking about their toughest opponent in the recent years is sure to light up the confidence and will bring about a new perception towards the fixture.
I believe Arsenal will hold Chelsea as long as they continue to show discipline in controlling the game and most importantly not falling to Chelsea psychologically will be crucial for Arsenal.
This fixture definitely opens up a new chapter to Arsenal if they win , but will only raise a lot of questions on Arsenal and their confident approach to big games.
Is this really the beginning of a new era for Arsenal or will it be the same story against Chelsea?
