Arteta's Arsenal return to action in another tough clash as they welcome a stuttering Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
It was a steady albeit hard to explain inprovement last time out but having seemingly already conquered some of the basics that Unai Emery failed on, Arteta should be somewhat more confident now with an extra session or two on the training ground under his belt. The signs of improvement were visible in part against Bournemouth, it is now about converting that final ball or final pass into something good enough.
Deputising at left back, young Saka has everything you need to excel. He played well last time out but much like Nelson at right wing, the end product wasn't good enough. With Calum Chambers available again and Hector Bellerin only just missing out on the squad two days ago, there could be more changes to the defence, which in many people's opinion would strengthen it. With United away to follow the Chelsea game, defensive stability is a must, and a Sokratis-Luiz partnership just doesn't do it.
In midfield, as mentioned, Reiss Nelson could be under pressure again as Nicolas Pepe continues to push for the start. The young Englishman is still developing and has the game, just not consistently, yet. Mesut Ozil looked alive again against Bournemouth and his team will need him bang at it again tomorrow. Although there is talk of Granit Xhaka's pending departure, Arsenal's centre midfield hasn't been as strong as it is now for roughly a year. Whatever Unai Emery tried to instill failed, and its seemingly now back to the basics with a Xhaka-Torreira pivot. And it looked solid last time out. If Xhaka doesn't play it is likely that his departure will go through in the coming days.
Upfront, Alex Lacazette missed a few chances that should have won the game against Bournemouth but its expected that he'll start once again. Arteta implementing the Man City full back dynamics means that when attacking down the left, Aubameyang is massively encouraged to move inside and into the box. With no real need for wide play from the Gabonese, he is expected to fill the box to support his fellow forwards, extracting the real strengths to his game. The ever impressive Gabriel Martinelli could be pushing for a recall should he get over his short term injury problem.
Our visitors come into this one really struggling. It has taken a turn for the worse, certainly going forward of late, where only Willian has been anywhere near the expected levels. Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic were all dropped to no real success whilst Tammy Abraham has seen a real dry up in chances of late. Two disappointing defeats in the last three, to Bournemouth and Southampton respectively, puts them in Arsenal-esc form - extremely below par. However, the hope is that Chelsea are on a downward spiral whilst Arsenal on an upward curve. Injury wise, Frank Lampard has no fresh concerns with Antonio Rudiger fully fit again, and only Reiss James and Marcos Alonso facing late fitness tests.
It was this fixture just a few seasons ago that kick started Arsenal's season as a Sanchez-Ozil inspired Wenger Arsenal buried Antonio Conte's Chelsea 3-0 in north London. More of the same would be spot on this time around as Arsenal are desperate for points and a run of form to alight Arteta's era. The fixtures don't get any easier so it all starts here.
Predicted lineup:
GK: Bernd Leno
RB: Hector Bellerin
CB: Calum Chambers
CB: David Luiz
LB: Bukayo Saka
CM: Lucas Torreira
CM: Granit Xhaka
CAM: Mesut Ozil
RW: Reiss Nelson
ST: Alex Lacazette
LW: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Prediction: 3-1 to the Gunners inflicting more pain on Lampard's Chelsea.
@craigbennett10
It was a steady albeit hard to explain inprovement last time out but having seemingly already conquered some of the basics that Unai Emery failed on, Arteta should be somewhat more confident now with an extra session or two on the training ground under his belt. The signs of improvement were visible in part against Bournemouth, it is now about converting that final ball or final pass into something good enough.
Deputising at left back, young Saka has everything you need to excel. He played well last time out but much like Nelson at right wing, the end product wasn't good enough. With Calum Chambers available again and Hector Bellerin only just missing out on the squad two days ago, there could be more changes to the defence, which in many people's opinion would strengthen it. With United away to follow the Chelsea game, defensive stability is a must, and a Sokratis-Luiz partnership just doesn't do it.
In midfield, as mentioned, Reiss Nelson could be under pressure again as Nicolas Pepe continues to push for the start. The young Englishman is still developing and has the game, just not consistently, yet. Mesut Ozil looked alive again against Bournemouth and his team will need him bang at it again tomorrow. Although there is talk of Granit Xhaka's pending departure, Arsenal's centre midfield hasn't been as strong as it is now for roughly a year. Whatever Unai Emery tried to instill failed, and its seemingly now back to the basics with a Xhaka-Torreira pivot. And it looked solid last time out. If Xhaka doesn't play it is likely that his departure will go through in the coming days.
Upfront, Alex Lacazette missed a few chances that should have won the game against Bournemouth but its expected that he'll start once again. Arteta implementing the Man City full back dynamics means that when attacking down the left, Aubameyang is massively encouraged to move inside and into the box. With no real need for wide play from the Gabonese, he is expected to fill the box to support his fellow forwards, extracting the real strengths to his game. The ever impressive Gabriel Martinelli could be pushing for a recall should he get over his short term injury problem.
Our visitors come into this one really struggling. It has taken a turn for the worse, certainly going forward of late, where only Willian has been anywhere near the expected levels. Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and Christian Pulisic were all dropped to no real success whilst Tammy Abraham has seen a real dry up in chances of late. Two disappointing defeats in the last three, to Bournemouth and Southampton respectively, puts them in Arsenal-esc form - extremely below par. However, the hope is that Chelsea are on a downward spiral whilst Arsenal on an upward curve. Injury wise, Frank Lampard has no fresh concerns with Antonio Rudiger fully fit again, and only Reiss James and Marcos Alonso facing late fitness tests.
It was this fixture just a few seasons ago that kick started Arsenal's season as a Sanchez-Ozil inspired Wenger Arsenal buried Antonio Conte's Chelsea 3-0 in north London. More of the same would be spot on this time around as Arsenal are desperate for points and a run of form to alight Arteta's era. The fixtures don't get any easier so it all starts here.
Predicted lineup:
GK: Bernd Leno
RB: Hector Bellerin
CB: Calum Chambers
CB: David Luiz
LB: Bukayo Saka
CM: Lucas Torreira
CM: Granit Xhaka
CAM: Mesut Ozil
RW: Reiss Nelson
ST: Alex Lacazette
LW: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Prediction: 3-1 to the Gunners inflicting more pain on Lampard's Chelsea.
@craigbennett10
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