Arsenal head into Sunday’s London derby against Chelsea looking to get their season back on track. Let’s see who will miss out on this important clash?
The Gunners were surprised by the intensity that was shown by Brentford during the opening weekend. A repeat of that against the Blues would definitely result in another defeat, maybe an even bigger one.
Arsenal Team News
The big news this weekend is the return of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid on a permanent basis. But the north Londoners will have to be without the midfielder for this game as his visa is pending and the Norwegian could not be registered.
Elsewhere, there is good news as captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is in contention to be fit for the match. The forward along with Alexandre Lacazette and Willian had all tested positive for COVID. While Aubameyang has recovered, the other two have not and will be unavailable for the derby.
The long-term absentees are Gabriel, Thomas Partey and Eddie Nketiah. But the good news is that all of them are expected to be back in training by the end of this month.
Doing the double over Chelsea last season was one of the highlights of the campaign. Despite struggling otherwise, Arteta’s men were able to find a way to beat the Blues. Though their team is pretty much the same, there is one huge addition and that is in the form of striker Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian has a good record over the Gunners, and it will be tough for the likes of Ben White and Pablo Mari to keep him quiet. If the hosts are to win, they should focus on moving the ball quickly and being alert to the Chelsea counter.
Though it is going to be tough for Arsenal to take all three points, they do have the talent to get the desired result. With the youthful exuberance of Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and others, there is more than enough firepower to overcome Chelsea. The Gunners will have to be careful in moving the ball and not make any errors. Winning would be the perfect response to the defeat last week.
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