Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Will Jose Mourinho Choose to Dominate or Counter-Attack?
Chelsea face Arsenal this weekend in what should be a top-of-the-table tilt in the Premier League. If the Gunners lose, they'll fall nine points behind the Blues in the early standings—a relative chasm, it must be said.
Let's take a tactical look at how this could play out.
Chelsea Setup
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According to The Guardian, Jose Mourinho will not apologise for calling Arsene Wenger a "specialist in failure" last year. It's a story that dominates the news portion of this fixture as we reach Wenger's 18th anniversary in charge of the club.
Chelsea have been trying out a 4-3-3 where possible, and it's thought that Mourinho wishes to move to it long-term. Here, though, he should continue in a 4-2-3-1, and the team more or less picks itself.
Ramires is out, so Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic and Oscar should man the midfield. Andre Schurrle, dreadful against Sporting midweek, will likely be replaced by Willian.
Filipe Luis should cede his position to Cesar Azpilicueta again, and Branislav Ivanovic will continue on the right but must watch the gaps he leaves when galloping forward.
Arsenal Setup
Wenger has told reporters he is keen to "put things right" following the 6-0 loss his side sustained at Stamford Bridge last season, per The Guardian:
"It was not a bad day [the 6-0 defeat], it was a horrendous day for us.
But we never forget that day and we have an opportunity to put it right. We, of course, are hugely determined and have a big hunger to put that right on Sunday. We have an opportunity to do it and I am confident that we will take the chance to do it.
"
The Gunners are plagued by injuries at this stage, with Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta added to the usual load. Jack Wilshere should come back in after making a cameo against Galatasaray.
4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3? We simply can't say.
Arsenal's Midfield: Doomed Whatever the Setup?
The reason many feel Arsenal don't have a chance here is the sheer size of the mismatch in midfield. Matic and Fabregas, accompanied by Oscar, form an exceptional trio that stands head and shoulders above Arsenal's depleted retort.
The difficulty comes in choosing whether or not to play Mesut Ozil; magnificent as he is and was against Galatasaray, he may not be suitable here.
Play him right, Eden Hazard rips him apart; play him left, Ivanovic eats him alive; play him central and he won't get enough pressure on Cesc and Matic, leaving the Blues controlling proceedings.
Buildup play issues have haunted the Gunners against big sides, and it may be worth dropping Ozil to the bench and adopting a pure counter-attacking style, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis Sanchez, Tomas Rosicky and Danny Welbeck searing forward.
Chelsea's Mantra: Evolving Against 'Big' Clubs?
Chelsea dropped too many points against lesser teams last year. We knew that. They also rarely slipped up against "big" teams, securing maximuml point hauls in most cases. We knew that, too.
The pattern stems from the style of play: Last year they played counter-attacking, low-block, men-behind-the-ball stuff on almost every occasion. When they were asked to come out and control proceedings, break teams down and force the issue, they struggled (see: Aston Villa).
The Blues' opening schedule was fairly easy, but it at least gave Mourinho a chance to prove to everyone his team has changed.
The recruitment of the more direct Diego Costa and the creative genius in Cesc has allowed Chelsea to begin whipping lesser sides.
The big question now becomes whether or not he continues to try and dominate even against the likes of Arsenal, or whether he sits off and plays counter-attacking football again.
Manchester City away is never an indicator as it's a bit of an isolated fixture, but here we will see exactly how strong Jose thinks his side is.
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