LONDON DERBY PREVIEW: Arsenal vs Chelsea
The Premier League heats up this Sunday as two of London's biggest clubs go head-to-head in an intriguing contest at the Emirates Stadium.
With just six points separating red from blue in the Premier League table – we will aim to widen the gap from the chasing pack, while Chelsea look to close in and reinvigorate their push for a Champions League spot.
Our recent dominance over the Blues
Under Mikel Arteta, we have enjoyed recent success against Chelsea, losing only once in our last ten Premier League meetings – a stark contrast to our earlier struggles in this fixture.
Arteta will be keen to head into the international break with a win over Chelsea and an unmissable Champions League quarter-final tie with European giants Real Madrid.
Chelsea's Cold Spell
Chelsea's season has been a tale of inconsistency, with early promise giving way to a struggle for stability. At one stage, they were being considered outside contenders for the title, sitting just two points off the top heading into the festive period. However, their form took a significant downturn, and a string of disappointing results saw them slip away from the Champions League places.
A hard-fought win over West Ham in February provided a glimmer of hope, but back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Aston Villa quickly dampened expectations. They managed to regain some momentum with victories over Southampton and Leicester, though both came at home, emphasising their ongoing difficulties on the road. With six away league matches without a win—and three consecutive losses—turning their fortunes around at the Emirates seems a challenge.
While domestic struggles have persisted, Chelsea have come alive in the Conference League – albeit against lesser opponents. A dominant group stage campaign saw them rack up 26 goals in six matches, and they followed it up with a 3-1 aggregate victory over Copenhagen in the last 16. With their FA Cup journey cut short by Brighton, European success provides their best chance of salvaging silverware this season.
Both managers share their thoughts ahead of Sunday afternoon
Mikel Arteta:
On beating Chelsea 5-0 last year: "I think it's going to be a very different game. I think the way they've developed as a team as well is very impressive, what they've done on the coaching staff, the amount of talent that they have in the squad. So yes, a really tough match but we had our best of luck, a big chance for us to win the game."
On what to expect from this weekend's game against Chelsea: "Well, let's see. I think two teams that want to be very dominant in the way of playing, are very aggressive on the high press and the way we have to have the ball. A lot of individual quality on that pitch, so it's about imposing what you want and the direction that you want to take the game and keep them very far from their strengths. I think that's going to be a key thing as well."
On having Real Madrid coming up in the Champions League: "Quite a fascinating draw. I think we're going to play against the club with the biggest and most history in the competition and I'm very excited to play against them but before that we'll have to have big matches in the Premier League."
Enzo Maresca:
On the gap between Chelsea and Arsenal: "It's quite big. The reason why is because they are working with the same manager for five years so the difference is quite important. They also have the same players that have already played some important games. But our duty is to close that gap between us and them. In this moment, the table says the difference is just six points so we are quite close. We have nine games still to go."
On whether he will make a goalkeeper change: "Yes, it will be Robert playing against Arsenal. Since we started, the idea was not to change the keeper, but we have had to be flexible with our gameplan since arriving. I think Robert needs some days off, or at least a rest mentally. Now he is back, we hope not to change until the end - but I also am happy with both keepers."
Team News
Arteta confirmed that Bukayo Saka is getting closer to a return but is still not ready to be included in a matchday squad.
Former Blue Kai Havertz is out for the rest of the season after an injury during our warm weather training camp in Dubai. Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu are also long-term absentees.
Chelsea's attacking trio of Nicolas Jackson, Noni Madueke and Marc Guiu are unavailable due to hamstring injuries. Mykhaylo Mudryk is also absent as he serves a provisional doping ban.
Key stats and facts
Chelsea have only won three of their last 19 away league games against teams above them in the table since the 2021/22 season.
We're on our longest unbeaten run against Chelsea since going 19 games without defeat between 1995 and 2005.
The Blues have lost just one of their last eight away London derbies in the league, though that solitary defeat was a 5-0 thrashing at the Emirates last season.
We must avoid defeat on Sunday to keep our record of never losing consecutive London derbies at the Emirates in the Premier League.
Martin Odegaard has been directly involved in six goals against Chelsea (2 goals, 4 assists), his highest tally against any Premier League opponent.
If selected, Ethan Nwaneri will make his final Premier League appearance before turning 18. No player under the age of 18 has ever scored in a London derby.
Defender Marc Cucurella has scored in back-to-back league matches after netting just twice in his previous 69 Chelsea appearances.
Match Officials
The fixture will be officiated by Chris Kavanagh, who has presided over three of our games this season—all of which ended in draws. Chelsea have struggled under Kavanagh's watch, with their last victory coming in November 2022.
He shows the most yellow cards per game this term out of all the top-flight officials.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Assistants: Lee Betts, James Mainwaring
Fourth Official: Sam Barrott
VAR: Jarred Gillett
Assistant VAR: Darren Cann