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Chelsea: Three things to look for in the Boxing Day bout at Arsenal

By Gabe Henderson

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: David Luiz of Arsenal battles for possession with Olivier Giroud of Chelsea during the Heads Up FA Cup Final match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 01: David Luiz of Arsenal battles for possession with Olivier Giroud of Chelsea during the Heads Up FA Cup Final match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 01, 2020 in London, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Getty Images) /
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Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Willian (C) takes on Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (R) and Arsenal’s Brazilian defender David Luiz (L) during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in London on December 29, 2019. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea’s Brazilian midfielder Willian (C) takes on Arsenal’s Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (R) and Arsenal’s Brazilian defender David Luiz (L) during the English Premier League football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium in London on December 29, 2019. (Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images) /

Chelsea travels to north London to take on its struggling neighbors, Arsenal, at the Emirates in Boxing Day’s premier fixture.

Chelsea travels to the Emirates to take on one of its fiercest foes during this holiday season. The Gunners are one of the most hated clubs around the H&F borough of London and for good reason. The contests between the two sides are always tough, especially on a day as special as Boxing Day. While this match isn’t garnering as much attention as years past due to Arsenal’s poor league standing, it’s still surely going to be a blockbuster bout. Mikel Arteta’s side will raise its game for this London Derby while the Blues need to continue to build on their winning performance against West Ham.

Chelsea has the opportunity to bury its rival down deeper near the relegation zone while continuing to creep up the table itself. Frank Lampard’s reaction to Tammy Abraham’s late winner last season in the same fixture perfectly encapsulates the emotion of this match, even this year with less on the line and no fans in attendance. Although the Blues took four points from the two games against the Gunners last season, the FA Cup final loss still looms large in the minds of many—creating a bit of buzz around the event.

Here are three things to look for in Chelsea’s premier Boxing Day bout against Arsenal:

1. The performances of former Blues

Regardless of past results, the hype surrounding Boxing Day, the rivalry itself or the form of each team, one thing is destined to steal the show and that’s Willian squaring off against his former club. One indication that the Brazilian will raise his game—other than the fact that he kind of has to, doesn’t he? There’s no other direction he can go, seeing as he’s hit rock bottom—is the fact he’s always been one to rise up to the occasion in a London Derby. After all, he still hates Tottenham.

Over the course of his seven years of service at Stamford Bridge, Willian played in 339 matches for the Blues. He won numerous trophies and was directly involved in 125 goals during his stint. The winger also managed to win Chelsea’s Player of the Season award in 2015/16, when he managed to be the only bright spot in an otherwise dreary season. Not to mention, he was likely the Blues’ second best performer last year in Lampard’s debut campaign. Despite all of this, the club allowed him to run out his contract at the end of August. Both sides had their demands, but in the end there was a one-year difference in the negotiations that neither side would compromise on. Fast forward to now and the 32-year-old sports the red of Arsenal alongside former Blue David Luiz.

The Brazilian boys’ outings have been woeful this season as the Gunners sit just a few points from the relegation zone, but nobody in west London would put it past them having their best game of the year on Boxing Day against their former employers. Who knows though, their individual downfalls at Chelsea both came down to one thing: consistency. As they continue to struggle to improve in that area in N7, everybody—on both sides—is eagerly awaiting the answer to which players they will see.

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