The Gunners travel west through London tomorrow evening as they take on Frank Lampard's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge looking for a big three points.
Mikel Arteta again heads into a must win game without talismanic skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and with vice captain and go-to striker Alex Lacazette struggling for goal scoring form, it's looking tough already. The Frenchman has struggled in front of goal of late and although he has done other aspects of his job very well, he is there to score goals as number one...even more so with Aubameyang out. Behind him, Mesut Ozil has gone a bit quiet again but his side really need him to step it up now, with points seemingly so hard to come by. Injury wise, it's still not looking overly great for Arteta as Reiss Nelson is now out for a few weeks, as he joins Sead Kolasinac in targeting an early February return. Calum Chambers and Kieran Tierney remain absent through injury whilst Sokratis' recent illness is being monitored ahead of the game tomorrow night.
The more positive news surrounds Hector Bellerin, who although sounds like he's still someway off starting a first team game in the Premier League, he is available again for selection. Ainsley Maitland-Niles though has done nothing wrong of late and certainly won't be dropped for tomorrow's clash. He'll be tasked with handling Willian down Chelsea's left flank.
In midfield both Dani Ceballos and Matteo Guendouzi are knocking on the door for starts but Mikel Arteta has, rightly so, seemingly chosen Torreira and Xhaka has his starting midfield pivot. Although the two have played a lot recently, one would say that actually the midfield has been fairly solid and consistent, and it is likely that the Spaniard will start the Uruguayan-Swiss duo once again. Gabriel Martinelli returned to first team action with a bang last time out and will be looking to add to his return to action with more minutes. He eventually faded out against Sheffield United and was soon replaced but he, and Pepe down the right, will be extremely dangerous assets tomorrow night. Although Eddie Nketiah returned to the first team fold this month too, he'll likely start the game against Chelsea as Lacazette's back up.
Chelsea have an injury or two of their own to consider ahead of the game as they hand full back Reiss James a late fitness test. The young right back's good form has pushed captain Cesar Azpilicueta over to left back and Emerson (and Alonso) out of the starting XI. However, should he not make it, Azpilicueta will comfortably move to the right side and allow a natural left footed full back to come back into the side, most likely Emerson the Italian although Marcos Alonso has been declared fit again. Beyond the fitness doubts, Chelsea are seemingly set to lose former Gunner Olivier Giroud who's been overlooked for much of the season anyway but left out completely for parts of this month. He has been linked with Inter Milan and a deal is sounding likely. It means that Michy Batshuayi will back up English forward Tammy Abraham whilst dangerous wide men Callum Hudson-Odoi and William remain Chelsea's big threats. However, the battle for control between Jorginho and Xhaka will be massive.
Whoever gets control of the game and dictates the tempo, will win it for his side. We saw at the Emirates how Jorginho controlled the game and eventually got his side ticking. But for some poor refereeing, it could have been much different...but who's bitter anyway?
The bad news for the north Londoners who are struggling to score is that they are winless in their last seven trips to Stamford Bridge, a stat they will be desperate to rectify tomorrow. But with things as they are and suspensions and injuries to contend with, Arteta may just settle for a point should it come his way.
Expected lineup:
GK: Bernd Leno
CB: Ainsley Maitland-Niles
CB: David Luiz
CB: Sokratis
LB: Bukayo Saka
CM: Granit Xhaka
CM: Lucas Torreira
CAM: Mesut Ozil
RW: Nicolas Pepe
ST: Alex Lacazette
LW: Gabriel Martinelli
Prediction: 1-1
@craigbennett10
Mikel Arteta again heads into a must win game without talismanic skipper Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and with vice captain and go-to striker Alex Lacazette struggling for goal scoring form, it's looking tough already. The Frenchman has struggled in front of goal of late and although he has done other aspects of his job very well, he is there to score goals as number one...even more so with Aubameyang out. Behind him, Mesut Ozil has gone a bit quiet again but his side really need him to step it up now, with points seemingly so hard to come by. Injury wise, it's still not looking overly great for Arteta as Reiss Nelson is now out for a few weeks, as he joins Sead Kolasinac in targeting an early February return. Calum Chambers and Kieran Tierney remain absent through injury whilst Sokratis' recent illness is being monitored ahead of the game tomorrow night.
The more positive news surrounds Hector Bellerin, who although sounds like he's still someway off starting a first team game in the Premier League, he is available again for selection. Ainsley Maitland-Niles though has done nothing wrong of late and certainly won't be dropped for tomorrow's clash. He'll be tasked with handling Willian down Chelsea's left flank.
In midfield both Dani Ceballos and Matteo Guendouzi are knocking on the door for starts but Mikel Arteta has, rightly so, seemingly chosen Torreira and Xhaka has his starting midfield pivot. Although the two have played a lot recently, one would say that actually the midfield has been fairly solid and consistent, and it is likely that the Spaniard will start the Uruguayan-Swiss duo once again. Gabriel Martinelli returned to first team action with a bang last time out and will be looking to add to his return to action with more minutes. He eventually faded out against Sheffield United and was soon replaced but he, and Pepe down the right, will be extremely dangerous assets tomorrow night. Although Eddie Nketiah returned to the first team fold this month too, he'll likely start the game against Chelsea as Lacazette's back up.
Chelsea have an injury or two of their own to consider ahead of the game as they hand full back Reiss James a late fitness test. The young right back's good form has pushed captain Cesar Azpilicueta over to left back and Emerson (and Alonso) out of the starting XI. However, should he not make it, Azpilicueta will comfortably move to the right side and allow a natural left footed full back to come back into the side, most likely Emerson the Italian although Marcos Alonso has been declared fit again. Beyond the fitness doubts, Chelsea are seemingly set to lose former Gunner Olivier Giroud who's been overlooked for much of the season anyway but left out completely for parts of this month. He has been linked with Inter Milan and a deal is sounding likely. It means that Michy Batshuayi will back up English forward Tammy Abraham whilst dangerous wide men Callum Hudson-Odoi and William remain Chelsea's big threats. However, the battle for control between Jorginho and Xhaka will be massive.
Whoever gets control of the game and dictates the tempo, will win it for his side. We saw at the Emirates how Jorginho controlled the game and eventually got his side ticking. But for some poor refereeing, it could have been much different...but who's bitter anyway?
The bad news for the north Londoners who are struggling to score is that they are winless in their last seven trips to Stamford Bridge, a stat they will be desperate to rectify tomorrow. But with things as they are and suspensions and injuries to contend with, Arteta may just settle for a point should it come his way.
Expected lineup:
GK: Bernd Leno
CB: Ainsley Maitland-Niles
CB: David Luiz
CB: Sokratis
LB: Bukayo Saka
CM: Granit Xhaka
CM: Lucas Torreira
CAM: Mesut Ozil
RW: Nicolas Pepe
ST: Alex Lacazette
LW: Gabriel Martinelli
Prediction: 1-1
@craigbennett10
Comments
Post a Comment