Arsenal vs. Chelsea: Teams, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info and Ticket News
Before the season kicked off, most onlookers would have expected this to be a clash that would only have ramifications at the top end of the Premier League table. However, the contrasting fortunes of Arsenal and Chelsea mean the result of this game will reverberate all the way through the division.
Arsenal, of course, are still very much in the title hunt. Heading into this round of fixtures, the Gunners were right at the summit of the Premier League. With three of their next four league games at home, they’ll know they have a chance to tighten their stranglehold on the title.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Chelsea, of course, are still champions—even if they look a very different team to the one that stormed to the title in 2014/15. If they fail to win this match, they will set a new record for lowest points tally by any reigning champion after 23 Premier League fixtures. At this stage last season, they were an incredible 27 points better off.
All the signs may point to an Arsenal victory, the Blues have an excellent record against the Gunners. Despite the difference in their respective league positions, this will be anything but easy for Wenger’s men.
Date: Sunday, January 24
Time: 4 p.m. GMT/11 a.m. ET
Location: Emirates Stadium, London
Television coverage: Sky Sports 1 / Sky Sports 1 HD (U.K. only), NBCSN and Telemundo (U.S. only)
Streaming: Sky Go (U.K. only)
Ticket Information:
For ticket information on all Premier League games visit the official site or go to the ticket page on the home club's official website. Secondary ticket information for Arsenal can be found here.
Form
Arsenal
W (2-0) vs. Bournemouth
W (1-0) vs. Newcastle
W (3-1) vs. Sunderland
D (3-3) vs. Liverpool
D (0-0) vs. Stoke
Chelsea
D (0-0) vs. Manchester United
W (0-3) vs. Crystal Palace
W (2-0) vs. Scunthorpe
D (2-2) vs. West Brom
D (3-3) vs. Everton
Arsenal have bounced back from a heavy 4-0 defeat at Southampton on Boxing Day with a five-match unbeaten run.
However, one slightly surprising stat is that they find themselves up against the team with the longest current unbeaten run in the Premier League. Chelsea have not lost in their last six league games, although ideally they would have liked to have won more than two of those encounters.
Although Chelsea won their last away game at Crystal Palace, that was their first victory on the road in eight attempts.
Arsenal have been in good form at home, winning seven of their last nine league games at the Emirates Stadium and drawing the other two.
The Managers
Despite Arsenal's huge lead over Chelsea, Wenger is unwilling to dismiss their threat. He knows that a club with their playing staff and resources will return to prominence before long. Per Arsenal.com, he said:
"Nobody can predict this. The confidence can go quickly and for them the bad luck is that the league is more difficult for everybody. Once you lack a bit of confidence it can happen to anyone.
The lack of confidence is linked with one or two unexpected bad results. The confidence in our job goes quickly, maybe quicker than ever because the pressure from the environment and the media is bigger than ever so you suffer a bit quicker than before.
They are not in this title race but [look at] the quality of their team. I think this season there have been exceptional circumstances for them and they will be back - I consider them direct rivals.
"
Meanwhile, on the other side of London, Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink insisted that, right now, Chelsea simply aren't ready to rival Arsenal. Per ESPN FC, he said:
"Not at this moment. Arsenal are doing very well, making a good bet for first position, and Chelsea are way down under. That is reality.
I'm confident that the team on Sunday will give their upmost to get the results that have been achieved in the recent past, but of course it might be a little different.
We don't talk much about [relegation] but if you see the statistics and you're closer to that line than the line where you are in the Champions League positions, that's the fact. I'm not a person to deny the facts. It doesn't mean we're looking down -- we have to look up.
"
Perhaps Hiddink is simply trying to alleviate the pressure on his players. Even though Chelsea are embroiled in a battle at the bottom of the table, the players will still consider Arsenal a rival. Their pride will motivate them to recapture their best at the Emirates Stadium.
Team News
Arsenal
Arsenal’s pair of marquee players, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, have both been declared fit for this fixture after overcoming foot and hamstring injuries, respectively. The big question now for Wenger is whether he throws them straight into the starting lineup.
Ozil should return with no problem having only missed one game. However, there is a bigger question mark over Alexis, who has already suffered one set-back back in December.
Ultimately, Wenger is likely to choose to play the Chilean. The alternative choice, Theo Walcott, has been in poor form of late, with just one goal in his last 13 appearances.
Predicted Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Petr Cech; Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal; Mathieu Flamini, Aaron Ramsey; Joel Campbell, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez; Olivier Giroud
Chelsea
Alexis isn’t the only mercurial left-winger fit for this clash—Chelsea fans will be delighted to hear that Eden Hazard is available after a groin problem. He ought to come straight back into the side, where his speed and trickery will prove a stern test of the young Hector Bellerin.
Elsewhere in midfield, it will be fascinating to see how Cesc Fabregas copes against his former club. The Catalan midfielder has struggled for form this season, but he may be invigorated by a return to his old stomping ground.
Predicted Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Thibault Courtois; Branislav Ivanovic, Kurt Zouma, John Terry, Cesar Azpilicueta; John Obi Mikel, Nemanja Matic; Willian, Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard; Diego Costa
Players to Watch
Arsenal: Mesut Ozil
Ozil is always a joy to watch. However, it will be particularly interesting to see how he gets on in this game—not least because it puts him in direct comparison with Fabregas, the man Wenger chose not to sign in order to build his team around the gifted German.
For all his creative brilliance, Ozil has not scored or set up a goal in seven meetings with Chelsea. He’ll be desperate to escape the attentions of Mikel and Matic for long enough to change that on Sunday.
Chelsea: Thibault Courtois
This could be a big game for Courtois, especially when you consider that the Chelsea defence have leaked five goals in their last two games.
Last season, Chelsea made a huge call when they agreed to dispense with Petr Cech in order to put their faith in Courtois. This fixture will provide a stern examination of the wisdom of that particular decision.
James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and is following the club from a London base throughout 2015/16. Follow him on Twitter here.
