Saturday 18th August 1730hrs Chelsea v Arsenal Football – England– Premier League Chelsea and Arsenal are old foes in the Premier League and despite the fact there will be two new faces in the dugout on Saturday evening in the shape of Maurizo Sarri and Unai Emery, the rivalry will be the same on the pitch and the bragging rights just as sweet for the winning set of supporters. There have been some epic clashes between the two down the years and we hope for more of the same this weekend as the two go head to head at Stamford Bridge. It’s another big game at the beginning of the season – match preview and betting tips for Chelsea and Arsenal can be found below.
Although they were well beaten in the season curtain raiser that is the Community Shield, Chelsea got their league campaign off to the perfect start last Saturday with a comprehensive 3-0 win away to Huddersfield. Although their hosts last week are expected to struggle, it was still a reassuring performance and result with so much uncertainty at upheaval at the Blues over the summer. Antonio Conte was eventually sacked which meant the worst kept secret in football could actually take place, that is Sarri replacing him. He himself had been placed on gardening leave essentially at former club Napoli and he had little time to mould the squad ahead of the closure of the transfer window last week. There were two significant signings, however, with Chelsea playing a world record fee for Spanish keeper Kepa and Jorginho making the same move as Sarri from Naples. Both made their debut against Huddersfield and strolled it. Jorginho also grabbed a debut goal and looks set for an exciting partnership alongside N’Golo Kante in the middle of the park. With all the speculation surrounding him, the fact Chelsea can still call upon Eden Hazard is another massive advantage. When Hazard plays well Chelsea inevitably play well and the Belgian will be pivotal once again.
It was a new look Arsenal team last weekend as they played a league game without Arsene Wenger in the dugout for the first time in over 20 years. When you read it like that it’s an amazing statistic but unfortunately for Gunners supporters the change in manager has not signalled a change in fortunes on the field – yet, anyway. And nor should it. It’s going to take time for Emery to stamp his authority on the team and although impressive in pre season, the new signings along with the established Arsenal players will take time to gel. It’s also going to be more than just one transfer window needed to get a balance in the squad that Emery wants. The fact their first game of the Emery-era was against the runaway champions of last season and the short priced favourites to repeat that feat this year didn’t help much either. Manchester City are a class above just now and it showed. Arsenal were poor in certain areas however, with plenty of attention being placed upon the performance of veteran ‘keeper Petr Cech. His distribution left a lot to be desired and with Bernd Leno waiting to get a chance having joined this summer, it’s questionable how long Emery sticks with Cech.
Chelsea v Arsenal Betting Tip
It could hardly have been a much harder start for Emery as Arsenal boss considering he’s facing the last two Premier League champions in his opening two games but we may actually get a better gauge of how his team are shaping up considering this fixture comes against opposition who are also at the start of building something. We’ve learned in recent weeks that both the Gunners and Chelsea are no match for Manchester City, so they also have that in common with City inflicting 2-0 defeats on both. Chelsea were impressive in their control of the game against Huddersfield and playing away seemed to suit them. They still look to be lacking in the striking department with Alvaro Morata, who has struggled for form for months, their only recognised central striker. Arsenal have plenty of options in attack but they still looked very fragile in defence and the determination from Emery that his team plays out from the back put them under real pressure against City. It’s something that they’ll have to be sharper with in the coming games.
Games between these two were very close last season. They faced off four teams having been drawn in the two legged semi final of the EFL Cup and it was Arsenal who edged ahead through in that, only to be hammered by City. The two league meetings ended in draws and the league position of both last season indicates there was not much between them. I would envisage that being the case once again but would be hesitant to put up a draw as a selection. Instead, take both teams to score at Stamford Bridge in what looks an exciting London derby.
Selection Both teams to score 7/10 @ Sporting Bet
