It’s time for Chelsea to turn around its recent fate against Arsenal

Whenever the London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal face one another, it is customarily a standout fixture. It does not matter if Arsenal is presently a genuine mid-table club either. The last three competitive matches between the two sides have finished in the north London side’s favor. While the 2020 FA Cup final can be attributed to referee Anthony Taylor’s horrific decisions, the Premier League home and away setbacks of last season were straightforward. The corresponding fixture to Sunday’s match was during the team’s downward spiral under the reigns of Frank Lampard. Chelsea had no answer against the Gunners. The home defeat under Thomas Tuchel was somewhat surprising considering the Blues’ form was decent in the league and excellent in Europe.

After winning the UEFA Champions League and Super Cup, Chelsea is at top of its confidence. This much was evident from the opening fixture against another London side in Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace. Even though the Blues played the Super Cup final only three days prior, the team looked fresh and sharp last Saturday. They need to kick their recent form against Arsenal and win now.

The addition of Romelu Lukaku gives Chelsea a proven, world class striker who knows the league well. Even though it has been only a week since the Belgian started his second spell, the boyhood blue will know what this fixture means to everyone at Chelsea. In the interim, Arsenal’s start to the season has been less than ideal. The Gunners’ preseason results were unimpressive and they were genuinely played off the pitch by another London side in newly promoted Brentford, who was playing in its first ever Premier League match. On top of that, they are lacking many senior players due to illness.

Everything points toward a pleasant Chelsea win at the moment, but in football, nothing is certain. The world saw this principle in action last Sunday when Tottenham Hotspur defeated the reigning champion Manchester City, even without its star striker, Harry Kane. Mikel Arteta and his players will know a favourable result against Chelsea will act as a catalyst for them to turn around their form, just like last season. This will be added onto the fact that this is Arsenal’s first competitive match with fans at the Emirates Stadium in the last 18 months. At the moment, no team has invested more money in players than Arsenal in England this summer.

After Arsenal, the Blues will be facing Liverpool, Manchester City and Spurs all within their next four matches. Any slip-up on Sunday will affect the team’s confidence ahead of those massive fixtures. A victory will also lighten the mood in the squad which has a few players in the running for UEFA awards on August 26. An effective start to the domestic season is vital anyway if Chelsea wants to mount a Premier League title challenge. Last year remains an exception to this thought as Manchester City stormed to the title on the back of a brilliant mid-season push, following a not-so-good start. This was unique and helped by the fact that no other team had any significantly long good runs throughout the year

Both the Manchester clubs and Liverpool look remarkably strong after big-money signings, as well as the return of previously injured key players. There are also other potential factors to be considered like players having to skip one or more matches due to isolation or quarantines. It is about making the most of what is currently in front of you and at the moment, it is Arsenal standing in the way of the Blues. Hopefully Chelsea is more than ready to take all three points.

How do you see the match playing out? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!