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Chelsea vs Arsenal was one of the fixtures to watch out for in the mid-2000s and while the title-challenging impact of this fixture may have oscillated between pivotal and meaningless over the past few years, today there can be no doubt. It’s #1 vs #3, both have statements of their own to make.
Arsenal stride into the match six points ahead of Chelsea and on the back of two thumping wins: a 4-1 dismissal of Tottenham Hotspur in the North London Derby and a dominant 3-1 win over old European foes Bayern Munich. There is a feeling that their title credentials haven’t ever been stronger under Mikel Arteta, and a win at Stamford Bridge would merely underline that sentiment.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are coming off a routine 2-0 win at Turf Moor and a not-so-routine 3-0 smacking of Barcelona at the Bridge. Enzo Maresca’s side is full of potential and youthful verve (none more so than Estevao), and a win against the favourites today would lend serious heft to the theory that they, along with Manchester City, will be Arsenal’s biggest contenders in the title race. Plus, there’s the small matter of Cole Palmer’s potential return.
Mikel Arteta, though, has never lost at Stamford Bridge as Arsenal manager, and in fact Arsenal have only lost one of their last 11 PL matches against Chelsea. Historical precedent, though, matters little in the present.
And in that present, on the pitch, we are likely to witness a battle between two of the best central midfielders in the country as Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo take each other on as they look to take control of the Bridge. Who will come up on top? We’ll find out soon enough.
