Arsenal vs Chelsea Preview: Gunners need win to keep title hopes alive

• Tweet
• Pin It

Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes are hanging by a thread and it’s vital we win our next two games before the international break if we want to retain any chance of catching Liverpool.

We play Manchester United this weekend and it’s a game we simply have to win. It’s never easy coming away with three points from Old Trafford but United are in a mess right now and we should be confident of picking up a win against Ruben Amorim’s men on Sunday afternoon.

Up next in the league after playing the Red Devils will be the visit of Chelsea to the Emirates Stadium and this is a huge game for both clubs. Despite being at home, this will arguably be a much tougher test than the game versus United as Chelsea are much-improved this season compared to recent years.

They currently sit fifth in the table – eight points adrift of second placed Arsenal – so we can all-but guarantee we finish above our London rivals with a win. However, should Chelsea leave with all three points, they’ll move to within five points of us and not only can we forget about the title, but the race for second spot will be well and truly on.

The good news is Mikel Arteta should be able to rest a few players ahead of the game after our sensational 7-1 victory over PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of our Champions League last-16 tie. I, like many others, felt the trip to the Philips Stadion would be extremely tough but Arsenal produced a stunning performance to blow them away. The win over PSV has virtually guaranteed our place in the quarter-finals of the CL with Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid lying in wait. We can now rest players for the second leg on Wednesday 12th – just four days before the Chelsea game.

Thrashing PSV should have given the players a much-needed confidence boost and showed them that we CAN still score goals even without our key attackers. Fans will also be in confident mood once again as it’s been a difficult few weeks. Supporters with Arsenal vs Chelsea tickets will now be looking forward to the game rather than worrying about us playing out another boring 0-0 draw like we did at Nottingham Forest.

Sadly, that draw at the City Ground has left us sitting a whopping 13 points adrift of Liverpool with a game in hand. Therefore, to stand any chance of getting back in the title hunt, we simply have to beat Man Utd and Chelsea before the international break.

Team news

Arsenal’s injury crisis in attack is showing no signs of letting up so we’ll still be without four key forward players when Chelsea come to North London on the 16th of this month.

Bukayo Saka is edging closer to making his comeback from a hamstring tear that’s kept him out since December. This game will come too soon but Arteta is hoping to have Saka available again after the upcoming international break. However, after undergoing surgery and being out for so long, the winger will need to be eased back into action.

Gabriel Martinelli should also be back at the start of April as he looks to return from his own hamstring issue. His injury wasn’t as serious as Saka’s so he could be ready to start against Fulham after the break but he’ll still miss the visit of Chelsea.

Gabriel Jesus won’t play again this season and is unlikely to be available again until the end of 2025 after suffering a serious ACL injury against Man Utd in January. Kai Havertz also tore his hamstring while away at our warm weather training camp in Dubai last month and he’s unlikely to play again this season so Arsenal have no recognised striker to choose from.

Takehiro Tomiyasu is another long-term absentee for Arsenal as he’s been ruled out for several months following knee surgery.

As for Chelsea, they also have problems in attack as Nicolas Jackson is set to miss the trip to the Emirates due to a thigh injury while fellow striker Marc Guiu is also out with his own hamstring issue.

Chukwunonso Madueke is also set to miss the game against Arsenal with a thigh injury while Romeo Lavia is another absentee for the Blues along with the suspended Mykhailo Mudryk. However, Trevoh Chalobah is expected to be fit following a back issue.

Likely Line-ups

Arsenal have very few options to rotate in attack with Saka, Martinelli, Jesus and Havertz all out. Raheem Sterling’s loan has proven to be a nightmare and even he won’t be available to play in this game as he’s unable to face his parent club, so we really are down to the bare bones.

Ethan Nwaneri and Leandro Trossard will play on the wings with Mikel Merino likely to be deployed as a makeshift striker again. Thomas Partey should start in the holding role with Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard ahead of him. Arteta may opt for Riccardo Calafiori at left-back as Myles Lewis-Skelly’s disciplinary issues are becoming a problem. While Jurrien Timber should start at right-back with Ben White still working his way back to full fitness.

Likely Arsenal XI: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Calafiori, Partey, Rice, Odegaard, Nwaneri, Trossard, Merino

Likely Chelsea XI: Jorgensen; Gusto, Adarabioyo, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Sancho, Palmer, Nkunku; Neto

Predicted score

This is a huge game for us and fans with Arsenal tickets know anything other than a win and our faint title hopes will be over. If we can come through the next two games with six points, it could put some pressure on Liverpool and with some much ‘easier’ games to come after the international break, who knows, we might be able to put a run together and get ourselves back in the race if the Reds drop some points.

However, it’s not going to be straightforward against a talented Chelsea side who have improved this season. They have quality players throughout their squad and this will be a tough game for us.

Our attacking issues are well documented but if we can play like we did against PSV, then there is no reason why we can’t create enough chances to beat Chelsea on home soil. I’m backing the boys to do it. Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

• Tweet
• Pin It