{"id":1440,"date":"2020-01-21T01:15:27","date_gmt":"2020-01-21T01:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/?p=1440"},"modified":"2020-01-21T01:15:27","modified_gmt":"2020-01-21T01:15:27","slug":"battle-of-the-inconsistent-chelsea-v-arsenal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/battle-of-the-inconsistent-chelsea-v-arsenal\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle Of The Inconsistent: Chelsea v Arsenal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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#CHEARS<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Just over 3 weeks ago, Arsenal faced Chelsea in what was an evenly matched game. My prediction on the day proved right. Not just the result, but in the manner it came about. A close fought game ending in a heartbreaking loss. Of course, VAR or whoever Riley appointed to man that screen, played a role that day just as it did in our last game. That\u2019s just how it is in the rich man\u2019s playground that is the Premier League.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the money league, we\u2019re in the middle of an unusually quiet winter transfer window. Not that I\u2019ve been keeping track but hardly anyone seems to be doing any major deals. Partly that has to do with Liverpool\u2019s dominance. They don\u2019t need anybody, and everyone else has no urgency this season. Except, maybe, Arsenal. We could do with some reinforcements, what with injuries and previous transfer decisions leaving us short of quality players. It\u2019s also kind of shocking that after 23 games our goal difference is still negative.<\/p>\n

However, I\u2019m of the view that we shouldn\u2019t try to force our way into the top-4 but rebuild patiently the right way. We\u2019ve made too many rash decisions in the past season and a half. Arteta in his press conference indicated the same; that he wouldn\u2019t be upset if we don\u2019t buy for the sake of buying.<\/p>\n

Another chance to catch up<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our results haven\u2019t been great. In fact, we\u2019ve won just 1 PL game of our last 5. That was against the old enemy, ManU. We drew 3 others and lost to Chelsea. Chelsea won against us and Burnley but drew with Brighton They also suffered losses against Southampton and, most recently, Newcastle. That is just the way this season has gone.<\/p>\n

Which means we have the chance to catch up. We\u2019re 10 points behind Chelsea in 4th, and 5 behind ManU in 5th. We\u2019re also just 2 points behind Spurs. It seems like we keep saying this, but with just 16 games remaining, we won\u2019t get many more chances if we slip up again.<\/p>\n

It certainly won\u2019t be easy. Chelsea are a good side, with a good mixture of youth and experience. Tammy Abraham is their main man up front. Willian always carries a threat, and then there\u2019s Mason Mount who has been impressive. Chelsea actually miss a lot of big chances, but they are also second in shots created. They also have more passes than everyone except ManCity, because their midfield of Jorginho and Kante provide them a good base to dominate possession.<\/p>\n

Once again, midfield will be our biggest challenge. Whoever partners Xhaka (I am assuming he will start) will have to be really on their game and aware of the danger at all times. Full backs are the other worry.<\/p>\n

Good performances, disappointing results<\/strong><\/p>\n

The more I talk about Chelsea, the more I am talking myself into believing we will lose this game. So let\u2019s focus on Arsenal instead. Despite the disappointing results, our performances have been quite good. We need to keep our intensity up throughout the 90 mins. That\u2019s something we\u2019ve had problems with, including in the last game against Sheffield United.<\/p>\n

Injuries haven\u2019t helped. Bad man-management by the previous full-time head coach destroyed cohesion and continuity. Since Arteta arrived there has been very little time between fixtures to prepare for game. \u00a0But we know the score. That\u2019s just how it is.<\/p>\n

Apart from our improved tactics under Arteta, we also seem fitter. I think we\u2019ll be fired up for this one. The key will be keeping confidence and belief high.<\/p>\n

Auba\u2019s suspension robs us of our top threat up front. Lacazette hasn\u2019t been scoring and I\u2019d say he\u2019s been feeling the pressure. He did give us a couple of good moments in the last game and maybe he can take confidence from that. Ozil too needs to step up and create more. Easier said than done, but if we can get the ball to him in the spaces he finds, then he could be vital.<\/p>\n

Two youngsters, Martinelli and Saka, have been the bright sparks. Both are stepping up at a time when they are sorely needed. Martinelli has been a revelation. For him to be promoted to the PL level and not look out of place is a testimony to his talent. It\u2019s also encouraging that he looks humble and keen to learn. Saka, meanwhile has filled in admirably while both our left-backs are out of action. His crosses in particular are great. Maybe another youngster Eddie Nketiah, formerly of Chelsea who let him go for being too short, can produce a similar impact on our season. Starting with this game. How sweet would that be?<\/p>\n

Team News:<\/strong> Sokratis will be assessed if has recovered from his illness. Mustafi had a good game on Saturday but I\u2019d feel more confident if Papa was back. Kolasinac and Reiss Nelson are both still out. Tierney and Chambers remain long term injuries. Bellerin has been slowly working his way back in training and was on the bench at the weekend. This might be the game he makes his comeback. He might face his nemesis, Marcos Alonso, who is also returning from injury for Chelsea. Maybe Hector can get his own back by assisting or scoring the winning goal.<\/p>\n

Starting XI<\/strong>: Leno, Bellerin, Luiz, Sokratis, Saka, Xhaka, Torreira, Pepe, Ozil, Martinelli, Lacazette<\/p>\n

Subs:<\/strong> Martinez, Mustafi, AMN, Guendouzi, Willock, Ceballos, Nketiah<\/p>\n

Prediction:<\/strong> I expect Chelsea to dominate possession and put us under pressure. Stamford Bridge has been a difficult ground for us and their confidence will be high. But we\u2019ll keep up the intensity and take our chances. 2-1 confidence boosting away win for Arsenal to kick start the rest of our season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

#CHEARS Just over 3 weeks ago, Arsenal faced Chelsea in what was an evenly matched game. My prediction on the day proved right. Not just the result, but in the manner it came about. A close fought game ending in a heartbreaking loss. Of course, VAR or whoever Riley appointed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[43,25,26],"tags":[24,318,72,211],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1440"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1444,"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1440\/revisions\/1444"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uncensoredarsenal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}