Chelsea Vs Arsenal

Chelsea Vs Arsenal
Saturday 22nd March: 12:45 BST Kick Off
Stamford Bridge
Referee: Andre Marriner


Last Chance

Arsenal travel to the west of London on a Saturday afternoon to face the league leaders. The game which marks the 1000th match for Arsene will also be undoubtedly one of his most important one. Arsenal have been involved in the title race since September. They have also been at the top of the table for most part of the season however that changed few weeks ago when their form dipped and the other teams took over. There was always a fear that Arsenal will suffer a negative spiral at some point of the season. City and Chelsea had theirs towards the start of the season while Liverpool had theirs here n there. We had ours at the worst time possible. But some hopefuls say that all is not lost. We still have a tiny chance, specially with Chelsea losing to Aston Villa last week. It does open a window of opportunity but that window is quite small.

You see, Arsene has never beaten Mourinho. Mourinho has never lost at home at Chelsea in his career. Both of these stats are not by chance and despite the fact records hold no merits this season, Chelsea's record is probably the most difficult to conquer. The question now is that do we have what it takes? Without Ozil i don't think we do. Without Ramsey, Walcott or Wilshere. I really don't think we do. But strangers things have happened. I won't go all pessimist in this preview as there are still too many hopefuls out there and i don't want to be a wet blanket.

Just for Arsene's sake. I hope the team gives their all. Because lose this game and PL is done.

Chelsea

So how do we approach this game? We all know Mourinho will do what he does in big games. But I would like us to actually mirror his tactics. I do hope we play a tactical and strategic game like we did away to spurs. I rather draw this game than let Chelsea win it despite the fact draw would be the worst possible result for both teams. Arsenal do have their sights on the FA Cup as the primary target but It would be a disaster to finish 4th and find out that United have somehow won the CL. Pls don't laugh.

But yea, I want us to stay compact against Chelsea and focus on stopping Hazard because stopping him is stopping Chelsea. He is their talisman and without a doubt one of the best in the world. Thankfully Ramires is suspended so a bit of their energy is gone from the midfield. Our team should be the same as the one against Tottenham but expect few changes if Rosicky is out.

Team News

For Arsenal, Rosicky is a doubt. Everyone else is fine. Might see Kallstrom on the bench. Long term absentees remains in Diaby, Walcott, Wilshere, Ozil and Ramsey/

For Chelsea, Midfielders Ramires and Willian are suspended as a result of their dismissals at Aston Villa last weekend. Cole is out so Arsenal fans best use the energy on singing which they were going to use on booing him.

Probable Arsenal Team

----------------------------------Szczesny-----------------------------------

Sagna------------Mertesacker-----------------Koscielny--------------Gibbs

--------------------Arteta-------------Flamini------------------------------

Oxlade------------------------Cazorla------------------------Podolski

------------------------------Giroud---------------------------------------

Probable Chelsea Team

----------------------------------Cech------------------------------------

Ivanovic-----------------Terry------------Cahill-------------------Azpilicueta

------------------------Matic------------Lampard/Mikel--------------------------

Schurrle-------------------------Oscar-------------------------Hazard-------

------------------------------Eto'o-----------------------------------------

Match Facts(FourFourTwo)

• Jose Mourinho has never lost against Arsene Wenger as an opposition manager (W5 D5 L0).
  
• Arsenal have won away at Stamford Bridge more often than any other visiting side in the Barclays Premier League (7).
  
• Chelsea have scored first in their last five home matches against Arsenal
  
• This will be Arsene Wenger’s 1000th competitive match as coach of Arsenal – his record in so far is W572 D235 L192.
  
• The last five Premier League wins Arsenal have enjoyed at Stamford Bridge have all seen the Gunners come from behind to win.
  
• Chelsea have won their last five home matches against top-six teams
  
• Arsenal have failed to score in the two games against Chelsea this season (0-0 in the Premier League and 0-2 in the Capital One Cup, both at the Emirates Stadium).
  
• Arsenal have won none of their last 11 Premier League meetings against Chelsea, Man Utd or Man City (W0 D5 L6).
  
• Arsenal have had loss/loss results in their last five away defeats against top-six teams
  
• Chelsea have recovered more points from losing positions than any other team in the Premier League this season (14).
  
• This is Chelsea’s lowest points haul after 30 games of a Premier League campaign with Jose Mourinho at the helm (66), but their fifth best in Premier League history.
  
• Chelsea have been leading at half-time in their last five home matches against Arsenal
  
• Chelsea have the best home record in the top flight with 41 points and are the only team not to suffer a home defeat in the Premier League this season.
  
• Arsenal have the best away record with 29 points on the road, which is level with Spurs, but they have a better goal difference of +6.
  
• The last Chelsea player to concede a Premier League penalty under Jose Mourinho was Khalid Boulahrouz and it was against Arsenal (May 2007).
  

Final Words

Let's do it for Arsene

Lets beat these scrubs and let them languish in the 4th spot   

We just dont have the strike force to beat chelsea, if we are to win this game we need a HUGE slice of luck, HUGE.

Great job RG.

Tomorrow is going to be special for Wenger, the players and the fans.
We need the ox on the wings. We really need pace and width this game. Am I the only one who thinks we can win tomorrow? please it do it for Arsene.

Please NO high balls in the box. Cahill and Terry can take that all day long and Giroud is a hopeless header of the ball. If Giroud is dropped we can have a top top top top game.

We're not going to drop the club's top scorer ffs And start who, Sanogo? Might as well give Chelsea the 3 points now and save us a trip across London

I think a win may be too much to ask, though that's just about the case for every club when the match is at Stamford Bridge. A draw is a very real possibility for Arsenal though, you guys have the talent to play Chelsea at their level and not lose.

A draw is a useful result considering our game in hand on Tuesday. Win that and we'll be within a point of them, which would put us right in the mix. A win would obviously be fantastic but unlike last week, I don't think it's as important to get one here. I find not losing the game much more important, considering that doing so would practically end our title challenge.

For that reason, it's vital we don't fall into the usual trap against Mourinho's Chelsea; have all the play in their half, commit men forward in an attempt to break them, then get caught on the break or concede a set-piece goal. It's almost a given that they won't be proactive in trying to win the game here, and I agree with RG that we should adopt a similar approach. It wouldn't make for a pretty game, but it should be our priority not to concede, as chasing the game against this lot would likely result in us squandering chances due to our lack of fire-power, and them picking us off.

It's negative but at this point it doesn't matter how we get the results. This is the biggest game of our season, any positive result, be it a draw or win, would be huge.

Lex wrote:We're not going to drop the club's top scorer ffs :lol:And start who, Sanogo? Might as well give Chelsea the 3 points now and save us a trip across London

It does not matter if Gigolo or Sanogo start, both will be useless and will cause more work for the rest of the team. Would rather play with no striker tbh.

----------------------------------Szczesny-----------------------------------

Sagna------------Mertesacker-----------------Koscielny--------------Gibbs

--------------------Arteta-------------Flamini------------------------------

Oxlade----------------Cazorla---------Kallstrom---------------Podolski


Kim K to hit the winner, 2-1.

I hope Podolski shows up the same way he did against Buyern in the 2nd half, we need a screamer from him or someone else and let our defence deal with their attacks.

CMON ARSENAL LET'S DO THIS FOR ARSENE!

While the Chelsea manager said he admires Wenger, he added that he also admired his club for supporting the manager for so long, "especially when the bad moments were quite a lot".

"The tribute is to say that I believe that any one of us, we would love to have the same privilege with our clubs," Mourinho said.

He was then asked whether he regretted the "specialist in failure" attack he made on Wenger last month. "You have to ask him if he regrets the comments he made," Mourinho said. "Then I'll answer you. Next question please.

"I admire him and I admire Arsenal, because it's not possible to have 1,000 matches unless the club is also a fantastic club in the way they support the manager, especially in the bad moments and especially when the bad moments were quite a lot. I admire the manager and the club."

It must be physically painful keeping all this bitterness inside you.

Great work RG. Not confident at all.