Chelsea-Arsenal: Four Reasons Why Blues Will Beat Gunners

In the weekend's blockbuster Premier League showdown, Arsenal head west to Stamford Bridge on Sunday to face a Chelsea team they've only beaten twice in their past 17 matches.

It instantly doesn't make good reading for fans of the Gunners, who inevitably won't be expecting much from the Chelsea game, even if they don't declare that statement publicly.

After all, when there's a player who has scored 12 goals in 10 games against your side (Mr. Didier Yves Drogba Tébliy), there has to be some reason why your team aren't considered stand-out favourites to win.

And here are four reasons why Chelsea, not Arsenal, will be fully expected to win on Sunday.

Didier Drogba

Starting with arguably the most apparent reason, the Ivorian talisman will be a tactical nightmare for Arsene Wenger and his Arsenal team this coming weekend.

If Thomas Vermaelen is available for the Gunners, then he'll sure as hell be told to stick on Drogba like glue for the entire match.

But even so, Carlo Ancelotti will instruct his top striker to stick on Vermaelen's less experienced and somewhat physically weaker defensive partner in either Laurent Koscielny or Sebastien Squillaci.

Thus, while Drogba moves Vermaelen all around that central defensive space, either Koscielny or Squillaci will have to deal with the space that Drogba will subsequently provide for Nicolas Anelka, whilst making sure Vermaelen is covered in case 'The Drog' gets the better of him!

And then if Ancelotti tells Anelka to play in between the defensive and midfield lines again, the Arsenal centre-backs will have the dilemna of having to choose between being tempted out of position to close down Anelka and risk Drogba getting in behind the defence, or staying in position but allowing Anelka time and space on the ball to either shoot or pick out a pass.

It's clear to see why Drogba has 12 goals in 10 games against Arsenal; he creates tactical anarchy in the Gunners' defence.

The full-backs could provide that fundamentally necessary extra cover in defence, but on one side at least, they'll have a certain Florent Malouda to keep them occupied, leaving Drogba and co. free to attack the heart of their opponent's backline.

And all this presumes Vermaelen will start for Arsenal. If he doesn't, well, Arsenal fans probably won't even want to know the final result.

Formations

With Robin Van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner missing through injury, Arsenal don't have much choice but to go for a 4-3-3 formation, as Marouane Chamakh will lead the line with Andrei Arshavin on the left wing and probably Samir Nasri on the right.

Cesc Fabregas could play his playmaker role if available, with Alexandre Song providing defensive cover and Abou Diaby (or Jack Wilshere) playing box-to-box.

That's how Arsenal will pan out, but barring a miracle, it's a tactical set-up that just won't work in theory.

Despite being at home, Chelsea are all suited to play a more high tempo version of catenaccio, allowing the away side to commit men forward before breaking quick and attacking their exposed defence.

Ancelotti could well set up the team in the same way as he did against Manchester City. They lost that time due to better tactical awareness from their opponents (more of their players had Serie A experience), but this time it should work perfectly against Arsenal's instinctively attacking nature.

The Gunners, with their setup, can commit anything up to seven players going forward, especially if Song stays back to allow Sagna to join the attack and Chelsea leave their right wing open again (which is another reason for Chelsea success) to tempt Clichy to bomb forward.

And that can be costly if Chelsea break, with Drogba, Anelka and Malouda being joined by a box-to-box player in John Obi Mikel, Michael Essien or possibly Ramires, resulting in a four-against-three situation.

Chelsea haven't conceded a single goal at home in the league or Champions League this season, and with the way they're expected to set-up against Arsenal (who could be without Fabregas as well as Van Persie and Bendtner), that doesn't look like changing anytime soon.

And in front of their home crowd with three in-form attackers in Drogba (especially against Arsenal), Anelka and Malouda, a Blues win is seemingly on the only thing on the cards.

Right Flank Open

Carlo Ancelotti has found a clever tactical ploy at Chelsea which could work wonders against Arsenal at home; leaving his right wing exposed, with only a right full-back in place (Branislav Ivanovic).

It didn't pay off against Manchester City, but this move looks certain to work against naturally attacking players like Arsenal's Andrei Arshavin, who looks certain to play on the left wing for the Gunners on Sunday.

Arshavin has proven down the years that he isn't always the most tactically astute player on the field, and with the space granted to him against Chelsea, he could well use his intelligent link-up abilities to bring Fabregas, Clichy and maybe Diaby into play and attack Chelsea's right side.

On the pitch at that very moment in time it could seem a good idea, but once the seven players the home team will have back defending close the Russian down and block off all his options for a pass, then Arshavin and co. will find little reward for all that empty space and time on the ball.

And it could get even worse if he's de-possessed having brought his full-back, playmaker and central midfielder into play, leaving just the holding player to protect a depleted defence against four or five quick, skilful, counter-attacking opponents.

It didn't work against an ultra-defensive Manchester City team, but against an Arsenal team with a manager and players who rightfully refuse to play ugly, it might well work an absolute treat for Carlo Ancelotti and his Chelsea side, especially with a vociferous home backing from the Shed End.

Tennis Players Can't Beat Nadal, Arsenal Can't Beat Chelsea

In a point that ties in well with Arsenal's two-wins-out-of-17 relationship with Chelsea, tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou wrote in his Eurosport column about how players already accept defeat to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer before they even step out onto court.

He wrote: "I was recently talking to a top 10 player who was complaining about Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal's level of play, which was causing a loss of hope and was making them feel like they have lost before they even step on the court.

"He was conceding to those two giants' superiority. The issue is that thinking this way means you're resigned to lose. It kills the fight before it has even started."

And this could well be a problem for Arsenal, considering it has been many years since they last beat Chelsea away, and considering they have a striker who has scored 12 goals in 10 games against them.

Then when also taking into account that Chelsea are currently the Premier League and FA Cup champions, are four points above Arsenal in the league, have won more games than them, have the best defensive record in the league and the best offensive record as well so far, it all paints a psychological picture of superiority in Chelsea's favor.

Could all the odds and statistics that point in Chelsea's direction mean that Arsenal are "resigned to lose" on Sunday?

These Arsenal players are professional athletes of the highest level in their sport, but at the moment, they're like what Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay are to Usain Bolt in 100m sprinting; whipping boys.

Then again, Tyson Gay beat Usain Bolt two months ago at a Diamond League meeting in Stockholm.