“CHELSEA head to Arsenal on Sunday hoping to close the gap in what could be a MASSIVE clash in the Premier League title race. The Blues have crept up to second after winning three in a row, but still sit six points off the Gunners, who have lost just once all season and are in”, — write: www.thesun.co.uk
The Blues have crept up to second after winning three in a row, but still sit six points off the Gunners, who have lost just once all season and are in imperious form with 14 wins and two draws in their last 16.
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Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea are up to second in the Premier LeagueCredit: Alamy
But they face a tough test against Declan Rice’s ArsenalCredit: Getty But Enzo Maresca and Co will not be interested in reading the tea leaves as all the omens look to be pointing at an Arsenal win.
Chelsea have won just ONE of the last 11 league meetings between the two sides – and haven’t beaten the North London side at Stamford Bridge for SEVEN YEARS.
Mikel Arteta’s side have an incredible record in London derbies.
Since the start of 2022-23, the Gunners have lost only three of their 40 derbies in the Prem – and only one of those losses has been away from home, at Fulham in December 2023.
They have won all four of their derbies this season, including last weekend’s comprehensive victory over north London rivals Tottenham.
The omens keep getting worse for the lads from west London.
This is the fifth time the Gunners will have faced the Blues while being top of the table, and they have won the previous four, in 2003, 2004, 2007 and most recently the 5-0 thrashing in April 2024.
The Gunners had lost six out of seven Premier League trips to the Bridge between 2013 and 2018, but since Marcos Alonso’s goal gave the Blues a 3-2 win in August 2018, Arsenal are unbeaten there, winning three and drawing three.
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Chelsea will also be hoping that Martin Odegaard is not fit enough to face them this weekend, as the Norwegian has a superb record against them.
Not only has he more goals and assists (seven) against them than any other Prem opponent, but the 26-year-old has NEVER lost to the Blues in eight clashes.
Injured team-mate Gabriel is also unbeaten in eight, while only Gunners legend Patrick Vieira, with ten, has faced the Blues more times in the Prem without ever tasting defeat.
Despite their dramatic win over Liverpool, Stamford Bridge has not been a happy home for Maresca’s men so far this season, winning just three of their six matches, earning ten points.
They have 13 away, one of only two sides with more points on the road than at home, along with Tottenham (five home, 13 away).
Pedro Neto is in electric form for ChelseaCredit: Getty
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners are in charge of the title raceCredit: Getty But the Blues can take heart from their overall Prem record against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, winning 13 of the 33 matches, with ten draws and ten defeats.
And they do have the upper hand in the past 21 years – since the Gunners’ last title in 2003-04, when the Invincibles were succeeded as champions by Jose Mourinho’s Blues, Chelsea have won 17 of the 42 meetings, compared to 13 Arsenal wins and 12 draws.
Plus in Pedro Neto, they have a man in form who has a good record against Arsenal.
The Portugal star has three goals and two assists in his last five Prem games, and has two goals and an assist in his last four against the Gunners, including the leveller which earned a point last season.
Moises Caicedo is another heavy hitter in the Chelsea ranks, and his midfield battle with Arsenal’s Declan Rice could go some way towards deciding the contest.
Arteta has led the Gunners to the top of the table this term but did suffer his first defeat in charge of the club against Chelsea in his second game in charge in December 2019, when Jorginho and Tammy Abraham scored in the last seven minutes to secure a 2-1 win.
But since then Arteta has won seven of the 11 meetings, meaning that he has the third best win rate of any Prem boss to have faced Chelsea 10+ times, his win rate of 58.3% bettered only by Pep Guardiola (61.1%) and Kenny Dalglish (76.9%).
And the Gunners also can call on Leandro Trossard, who has scored four times against Chelsea in the Prem – only against Liverpool (six) has he got more.
If he nets on Sunday, he will be the fifth Belgian to reach 50 Premier League goals, after Romelu Lukaku (121), Christian Benteke (86), Eden Hazard (85) and Kevin De Bruyne (72).