Arsenal With Major Question Marks Heading Into Stamford Bridge

Don't hop on the Lukasz Fabianski bandwagon just yet.

Although he saved a good penalty against Partisan Belgrade Tuesday, the Arsenal goalkeeper has shown one consistency in his play for Arsenal during the last two years.  He consistently makes mistakes. 

And now, with Manuel Almunia "injured" again (he curiously gets injured after every bad game he has, maybe he has a hurt ego more so than a hurt wrist or whatever it is), Fabianski will get another chance to either prove all the pundits wrong with a brilliant performance against Chelsea or make Arsene Wenger look like an idiot again with an error-ridden performance.

Goalkeeper isn't the only worry for Wenger heading into the match, which is easily both Arsenal's and Chelsea's biggest of the season thus far.

Gael Clichy has been poor so far this season, but should get the start against Chelsea, although it may be the last time Gael faces the Blues as a first-teamer.  Kieran Gibbs is knocking at the door, and in my opinion, its only a matter of time before Gael loses his place in the team.  Will Clichy hasten this change with another key mistake?  Or will he make his case with a good game against Chelsea?

Thomas Vermaelen has been ruled out with an injury.  His presence will be hugely missed, but as a result, Arsenal may have to turn to Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci as the center-back pairing to take on the likes of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka.  

Koscielny and Squillaci have been solid for most of the season, but last week, at home to West Brom, this partnership conceded three goals.  Three goals conceded to West Brom at home is unacceptable for a side that is trying to win the Premier League. 

To concede three goals at the Bridge Sunday would be equally unacceptable.  The two French centerbacks are going to have to find their good form, because Chelsea will prove the most difficult test for our defense this season.

Abou Diaby has also been out with injury, which could be a blessing in disguise.  Diaby is a frustrating player.  While he is a great dribbler and shows great strength on the ball and in the tackle, he still has trouble finding a quick pass, gets caught in possession too often, and generally holds up play. 

His height and strength would help a lot in dealing with the likes of Drogba, Alex, John Terry, and John Obi Mikel, but now it looks like he may not be fit.

In his place is Jack Wilshere, arguably Arsenal's best player this season.  Wilshere has played in every game thus far and has shone brightly in most of them.  He has creativity that few players in the world have, but has also shown a strong toughness that exceeds his small frame. 

Surely Wenger has to start young Jack.  Keeping him on the bench would be a mistake. How could he keep his best player on the bench against the Blues?  You might want to ask him, he's done it once already when he left Andrey Arshavin out in the FA Cup semifinal against the Blues two years ago.

The major threats to the Arsenal goal will come from three players: Drogba, Ashley Cole, and Michael Essien.  Little Wilshere will have his hands full dealing with Essien, but together with Alex Song, Arsenal should be able to deal with the box-to-box Ghanaian (as long as Song remembers his role is to sit in front of the defense and stop attacks, not to dribble forward and score goals, his recent performances have been a little alarming). 

Koscielny and Squillaci will have to have great games to deal with Drogba, but his service on the left hand side may be a greater concern for Arsenal.

Ashley Cole provides great energy and crossing at left back for Chelsea.  He is a major player, and it will be tough to stop him.  Bacary Sagna was poor against West Brom, and his play thus far this season has been, to put it kindly, below expectations.  He needs to rebound Sunday and shut down Cole, but the job is not his alone. 

The Arsenal right winger will also be key in trying to stop Cole.  He will need to track back and make sure Cole never gets time on the ball to pick out a cross.  Theo Walcott would be the perfect fit. 

Walcott's defensive effect on the game is massive, but invisible.  Although he doesn't fly around and make tackles, Walcott's pace alone makes opposing wing-backs think twice before they push forward and leave themselves open for a counter-attack.  Cole would be forced to play less aggressively against Walcott, which would be a massive help to the Arsenal cause.

Walcott would be great, if Arsenal had him, but he is another Gunner out with injury.  So Wenger has a few other options to choose from: Emanuel Eboue, Tomas Rosicky, and Samir Nasri.  

For me, I think Wenger should go with Rosicky.  Eboue has been very inconsistent on the wing, which is not his natural position.  Nasri has been great thus far, but he doesn't play well defensively, and Cole is such a threat to the Arsenal defense Rosicky might be the best option.

Rosicky is a real team player.  He does the dirty work defensively and is always looking to create chances and probe the defense with inside runs and cheeky passes.  While he has a hard time scoring goals himself, Rosicky has shown he excels at doing everything else Arsenal needs of him. 

The quality of his cross to Marouane Chamakh for the winner against Belgrade Tuesday is something Arsenal has missed this season, as the crossing (normally off the feet of Sagna or Clichy) has been really poor.  

Chamakh also needs to have a good game at the Bridge.  He has been great this season, but only scored his first away goal Tuesday.  It will be interesting to see if Terry and Alex can deal with his pace and trickery on the ball.  With both Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner out via injury, he is Arsenal's only hope up front, but a hope that wasn't there last season.  

And finally, the biggest question mark of them all, is the captain Cesc Fabregas.  Will Fabregas be fit in time to play Sunday?  Arsenal with Cesc are a totally different side than Arsenal without him.  When he was playing at his best early this season, Arsenal was scoring four or more goals a game. 

One-nil up at Sunderland after his goal, Cesc went out injured.  After he went out, Arsenal showed less offensively, created less chances, and ended up drawing 1-1.  The next week, without their captain, Arsenal looked flat, and fell three-nil down to West Brom before clawing back to 3-2.  His influence on the team is unquestionable.  Arsenal need Cesc Fabregas Sunday.  Hopefully he will be fit.

So, to sum it up, Chelsea poses a number of problems for an Arsenal team that limps into the Bridge this Sunday saddled with many injuries to key players. 

Will Arsenal's new French pair of centerbacks hold up against the best striker in the league?  Will Cesc Fabregas be fit to play in time?  Is Wilshere ready for the biggest games like Chelsea away? Can Sagna and whoever plays on the right wing deal with the threat of Ashley Cole?  Can Chamakh keep leading the line alone?  Is he tired? Will Gael Clichy make another mistake in a big game?

And, as always, will the Arsenal goalkeeper, no matter who it is, cost Arsenal another game?  

Here's hoping for a two-nil away win.