Pre-match briefing: Arsenal v Chelsea - part two
With the weekend’s big game drawing close,
club historian Rick Glanvill and club statistician Paul Dutton complete
their detailed derby preview…
Chelsea have played more competitive games against Arsenal than any
other team. Sunday will be our 184th meeting. The first ever top-flight
London derby, played on 9 November 1907, ended Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1, both
Pensioners goals coming from the boot of scoring sensation ‘Gatling
Gun’ George Hilsdon. Charlie Satterthwaite pulled one back for the
Gunners.
In the modern era, Jose Mourinho is unbeaten in all 12 previous meetings with Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, taking in seven wins and five draws. Chelsea are also hoping to extend our unbeaten run against Arsenal to eight games in all competitions. The Gunners have won just four of the last 27 meetings over the past 11 years.
In May 2009 the Blues crossed town to inflict the worst home defeat for the north London rivals at their latest home.
The Gunners started brightly without threatening, and it was the visitors who drew first blood, Brazilian centre-back Alex heading Didier Drogba’s free-kick past Lukasz Fabianski in the 28th minute.
Just before the break the former Gunners striker Nicholas Anelka found space in midfield and, with the hosts’ midfield backing off, moved forward and drove the ball powerfully past the Arsenal keeper.
A short while after the break Ashley Cole – relentlessly barracked as ever – broke down the left and crossed low towards Drogba. Centre-half Toure, under pressure from his fellow Ivorian, had to stretch to make contact, but only succeeded in redirecting into his own net to make it 3-0 to Gus Hiddink’s men.
With 20 minutes remaining Bacary Sagna crossed for substitute Nicklas Bendtner to pull a goal back, but the threatened Arsenal revival never materialised and after Florent Malouda scored from a rebound with four minutes remaining to make it 4-1 the home stands emptied as if in a fire drill.
You may enjoy the highlights of that game here.
WE HAVE HISTORY
Chelsea have played more competitive games against Arsenal than any
other team. Sunday will be our 184th meeting. The first ever top-flight
London derby, played on 9 November 1907, ended Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1, both
Pensioners goals coming from the boot of scoring sensation ‘Gatling
Gun’ George Hilsdon. Charlie Satterthwaite pulled one back for the
Gunners.In the modern era, Jose Mourinho is unbeaten in all 12 previous meetings with Arsenal and Arsene Wenger, taking in seven wins and five draws. Chelsea are also hoping to extend our unbeaten run against Arsenal to eight games in all competitions. The Gunners have won just four of the last 27 meetings over the past 11 years.
In May 2009 the Blues crossed town to inflict the worst home defeat for the north London rivals at their latest home.
The Gunners started brightly without threatening, and it was the visitors who drew first blood, Brazilian centre-back Alex heading Didier Drogba’s free-kick past Lukasz Fabianski in the 28th minute.
Just before the break the former Gunners striker Nicholas Anelka found space in midfield and, with the hosts’ midfield backing off, moved forward and drove the ball powerfully past the Arsenal keeper.
A short while after the break Ashley Cole – relentlessly barracked as ever – broke down the left and crossed low towards Drogba. Centre-half Toure, under pressure from his fellow Ivorian, had to stretch to make contact, but only succeeded in redirecting into his own net to make it 3-0 to Gus Hiddink’s men.
With 20 minutes remaining Bacary Sagna crossed for substitute Nicklas Bendtner to pull a goal back, but the threatened Arsenal revival never materialised and after Florent Malouda scored from a rebound with four minutes remaining to make it 4-1 the home stands emptied as if in a fire drill.
You may enjoy the highlights of that game here.
Arsenal last beat Chelsea in October 2011 when they won 5-3 at Stamford Bridge against Andre Villas Boas’s side.
Their last home win against the Blues was in December 2010 when Alexandre Song, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott put the Gunners 3-0 up before Branislav Ivanovic replied in the second half.
The reverse fixture this season
5 October 2014 Barclays Premier LeagueChelsea………..……2 Arsenal………..………..0
Hazard pen 27
Diego Costa 78
Att: 41,607
Chelsea v Arsenal in all competitions
Games played 183
Chelsea wins 59
Arsenal wins 71
Draws 53
Head to head in the League at Arsenal
Games played 77
Chelsea wins 20
Arsenal wins 36
Draws 21
Biggest league win at Arsenal for each team
Arsenal 5-2 Chelsea - 16/04/1979
Arsenal 1-4 Chelsea - 09/04/1960, 12/11/1960 and 10/05/2009
TACTICAL BRIEF
A key factor in the psychology of this game is that Arsenal must win if they wish to overhaul Chelsea’s 10-point advantage over the remaining few weeks. Should results go against Arsene Wenger’s side this weekend they could find themselves in that familiar fourth spot, the Champions League qualifying-round place, before kick-off.Wenger usually has his team play very open and attacking at home – it is an aspect of his management that has drawn criticism. However, their most impressive tactical performance this season was in the 2-0 away win over Manchester City in January.
The technical attacking midfielders Mesut Ozil and Tomas Rosicky, for whom power is not a strong suit, were omitted from the starting line-up. In central midfield Santiago Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (unfit this weekend) were given deeper duties alongside anchor Francis Coquelin. Mikel Arteta is not match fit this weekend.
The more defensive left-back Nacho Monreal was preferred to Kieran Gibbs, while the fleet-footed but callow Hector Bellerin, in for the more experienced and less attacking Mathieu Debuchy, was asked to play more compact than usual, and Olivier Giroud played as a target man as well as chasing and harrying defenders.
Chelsea are as adaptable as a Swiss army knife, as reiterated by Kurt Zouma’s successful redeployment in the vital win against Man United last Saturday. Zouma’s specific task was to negate the threat of Marouane Fellaini, however, and Arsenal have no one of similar presence.
Another midfield option, John Mikel Obi, returned to action for the first time since early February last weekend. Whoever plays alongside Nemanja Matic, one of their main tasks will be to prevent the incisive through-balls on which Arsenal’s attacks so heavily rely.
The Chelsea players know that a draw in north London, while ruling out a title win three days later at Leicester, would leave the Gunners needing snookers. Jose Mourinho and his troops will surely be determined to finish the job as soon as possible and aim for victory.
Although many visiting managers feel the key is to prevent Arsenal opening the scoring in the first 25 minutes, the Blues have actually hit twice as many goals as the Gunners in the opening 15 minutes of games: 14 compared to seven.
Arsenal’s most prolific spells are the last 15 minutes of either half, but when the opposition have scored first on their ground this season the Gunners have salvaged only one win in four.
A key battleground will be the flanks. The natural proclivity of the home side’s full-backs is to attack, which added to a lack of outstanding pace in the centre can make their high line of defence vulnerable to counter-attack.
With PFA Player of the Year favourite Eden Hazard in wonderful goalscoring form, and either Willian or Oscar likely to be the other wide attacking midfielder, Chelsea are set up to exploit that. It would be unusual for Wenger to try special measures against the much-fouled Belgian.
There was concern the Blues might be short of strikers with Didier Drogba, responsible for 13 goals in 14 clashes with the Gunners, pulling out of a charity match in midweek. Diego Costa has missed two games through injury and Loic Remy is ruled out. However Jose has confirmed the Ivorian (shown below netting at the Emirates in 2009), will be fit and that Diego Costa will return for the trip to Leicester on Wednesday at the latest, and may make the Emirates.
Meanwhile Arsenal’s rhythm may be disrupted by the
absence of 6ft 6in defensive lynchpin Per Mertesacker, who sprained his
ankle in last weekend’s win against Reading. January-signing Gabriel
Paulista looks most likely to step in, but the 6ft 1in Brazilian has
only completed 90 minutes twice since his arrival from Villarreal. He
would be expected to be less effective in the air than the German.
When Arsenal came at the Blues at Stamford Bridge back in October, and they were picked off and lost 2-0, it was with the same 4-1-4-1 formation. Mathieu Flamini was in the holding midfield role and Danny Welbeck (who has as many league goals to his name as Branislav Ivanovic this season) played as the lone striker. Both were far less influential than current incumbents Coquelin and Giroud have been in recent games.
The Gunners have won their last three at Emirates Stadium but were beaten 3-1 in the Champions League by Monaco, for whom visiting central midfielder Geoffrey Kongdogbia was the outstanding player on the field, using height, power and drive against 23-year-old Coquelin, who played two full games for Charlton in the Championship as a defensive midfielder before making the Arsenal starting XI in December.
David Ospina has displaced Wojciech Szczęsny in goal and has outstripped his predecessor by almost every statistical measure except accuracy of distribution.
Like Chelsea’s unflappable PFA Young Player of the Year nominee, Thibaut Courtois, the Spaniard likes to come and catch crosses, whereas Szczesny is more of a puncher.
When Arsenal came at the Blues at Stamford Bridge back in October, and they were picked off and lost 2-0, it was with the same 4-1-4-1 formation. Mathieu Flamini was in the holding midfield role and Danny Welbeck (who has as many league goals to his name as Branislav Ivanovic this season) played as the lone striker. Both were far less influential than current incumbents Coquelin and Giroud have been in recent games.
The Gunners have won their last three at Emirates Stadium but were beaten 3-1 in the Champions League by Monaco, for whom visiting central midfielder Geoffrey Kongdogbia was the outstanding player on the field, using height, power and drive against 23-year-old Coquelin, who played two full games for Charlton in the Championship as a defensive midfielder before making the Arsenal starting XI in December.
David Ospina has displaced Wojciech Szczęsny in goal and has outstripped his predecessor by almost every statistical measure except accuracy of distribution.
Like Chelsea’s unflappable PFA Young Player of the Year nominee, Thibaut Courtois, the Spaniard likes to come and catch crosses, whereas Szczesny is more of a puncher.
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