Bragging rights will be up for grabs at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night, as Arsenal welcome London rivals Chelsea in a Premier League encounter.
The Gunners returned to the summit of the Premier League with a 2-0 away win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening, days after they faced Champions League elimination at the hands of Bayern Munich. They will be aiming to consolidate their position on the table by making it back-to-back Premier League wins.
The Blues, on the other hand, lost 1-0 to Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final on Saturday, ending their hopes for a silverware this season. It has been a disastrous campaign at Stamford Bridge, with Mauricio Pochettino failing to live up to the lofty expectations. They have barely anything to play for with a mid-table finish very likely, but Pochettino’s side can put a spanner in Arsenal’s title dreams in north London in midweek.
Arsenal vs Chelsea—Team News
Arsenal
There are no fresh injury concerns for Arsenal from Saturday’s trip to Wolves, with Mikel Arteta likely to be without defender Jurrien Timber on Tuesday night. Due to a quick turnover, the Spaniard will likely make a few changes to his team against Chelsea.
William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes should continue their strong centre-back pairing, with David Raya a constant fixture in goal. But we could see Oleksandr Zinchenko replacing Jakub Kiwior at left-back. Ben White is expected to start at right-back again.
Jorginho is in contention to start against his former club, and his potential inclusion should see Declan Rice operate further up the pitch. Martin Odegaard, who scored the second goal against Wolves, should complete the Gunners’ midfield.
After Gabriel Jesus’ poor outing at Wolves, chances of Kai Havertz playing as a false 9 have become higher. The German must be hoping to haunt his former employers in midweek. Bukayo Saka has been a permanent fixture on the right flank, but Arteta may give Gabriel Martinelli the nod ahead of Leandro Trossard on the opposite flank.
Chelsea
Chelsea have been dealt with a big blow ahead of the trip to the Emirates Stadium, with their top scorer Cole Palmer expected to miss the game due to illness. They are already without the likes of Reece James, Lesley Ugochukwu, Christopher Nkunku, Romeo Lavia, Levi Colwill and Wesley Fofana, while Ben Chilwell and Malo Gusto, who was forced off against Man City on Saturday, are both undergoing medical assessment.
Axel Disasi should replace Gusto at right-back if he fails to recover in time, joining Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva and Marc Cucurella in defence. With Robert Sanchez out, Djordje Petrovic must continue in goal for Chelsea.
There is no looking past Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the park. The two South Americans will be joined by Conor Gallagher, whose energy, creativity and late runs in the box could cause problems for the hosts. A wasteful outing against City in the FA Cup semi-final could see Nicolas Jackson make way for Raheem Sterling, with Noni Madueke and Mykhaylo Mudryk trying to unlock the rigid Arsenal backline from wide areas.
Martin Odegaard scored the decisive second goal against Wolves on Saturday to help Arsenal bounce back from a tough couple of weeks. The Norwegian is a leader and has a big point to make in this clash, as his performances can have ramifications for the rest of the campaign. Given Chelsea’s woes at the back, Odegaard could end up running the show at the Emirates Stadium.
Conor Gallagher—Chelsea
Ideally, Cole Palmer would have been the player to watch for Chelsea due to the impact he’s made since joining from Man City last summer. But with him likely missing out due to illness, Conor Gallagher has to rise and make himself count against the Gunners. He will be out there for two things; one to help Chelsea bounce back from the FA Cup exit and the second to disrupt Arsenal’s title challenge, as the Englishman has a significant mark to make for the travelling fans.
I am Rohan Sengupta from one of the busiest cities in India, Mumbai. A Journalism graduate with a keen interest in sports, football is something I simply cannot live without and writing, discussing and analyzing the game is what I do 24*7.
