Preview: Chelsea v Arsenal | Pre-Match Report | News

We aim to get back to winning ways when we tackle Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday (4.30pm UK), and perhaps a London derby is just the tonic Mikel Arteta’s team need to head into the international break on a high.

We have won our last six capital clashes by an aggregate score of 22-3, which includes a 5-0 win over the Blues in our last encounter. That may have been at Emirates Stadium, but our record at the Bridge is also pretty formidable, having not lost there since 2018 and winning three of the last four.

Both teams head into this game on the back of contrasting fortunes in Europe in midweek, but locked on 18 points in the Premier League standings. Increasing that tally by three will be a huge boost for either side as they aim to head into the final break of the year breathing down the league leaders’ necks.

Goal-hungry Blues on the rise

Chelsea splashed out another £200 million this summer as Enzo Maresca put his spin on a squad that finished seventh last season, and five league wins from 10 games have taken them into the top four places they desperately crave ahead of this weekend.

Only Manchester City and Liverpool have taken three points off the west Londoners, while City are the only team to have scored more than Chelsea’s 20 goals. However, they’ve won just two of their five league matches at Stamford Bridge so far and have yet to keep a clean sheet in that time, but did beat Newcastle United in their last Premier League encounter on home turf a fortnight ago.

Competing in the Conference League this season, Maresca has opted to field a B team in those games, regularly making 11 changes. It hasn’t hampered them, as they are top of the table with maximum points and 16 goals from three games, including Thursday’s 8-0 annihilation of Armenian side Noah.

What the managers say

Arteta: “When you don’t win it affects the mood and energy but the positive thing is that it is impossible that anyone in this room or outside wants to win more than I do, and these guys in the dressing room want to do. Today I had a meeting with them about it and I can sense it straight away.

“I’m really impressed about what [Maresca’s] done, but what they’ve done over a year because with Mauricio [Pocchetino] the last six months were extraordinary. You could see the squad, the quality they have, the amount of players they have and then Enzo has given his touch and you can see clearly what he wants to do. I think he’s been really brave from day one to consistently follow what he wanted to do.”

Maresca: “In this moment, the feeling from us is that we can compete, and we can win against any team. We have the right feeling that we are going in the right direction. Hopefully on Sunday, we can give our fans a good day.

“I also like to get pressure from these kinds of games. For sure, [Arsenal] are the closest ones with City. Both, I consider them better than the rest. But we’re going to try to make life difficult for them. Set pieces, they are very good. I watched the Champions League game against Inter Milan, and every corner was smelling of a goal.”

Team news

Declan Rice missed the game against Inter Milan in midweek with a toe problem and Mikel Arteta is unsure as to whether he’ll be fit to face Chelsea, with the same going for Mikel Merino and Kai Havertz who were forced off in the San Siro.

Raheem Sterling is unavailable as he cannot feature against his parent club, while Riccardo Calafiori continues to nurse a knee problem. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Kieran Tierney remain out with the knee and hamstring injuries which have hampered them throughout the season.

Maresca’s main worry surrounds Cole Palmer, who picked up a knock against Manchester United last weekend following a tackle by Lisandro Martinez and has missed most training sessions this week as a result, while Jaydon Sancho has been struggling with illness but is edging closer to a return.

TALKING TACTICS

Adrian Clarke: Considering the size of his squad I have been very impressed by Maresca’s management and his clever use of 4-2-3-1. He has gone about his work calmly, tweaked the style of play, and somehow found a settled side that he can trust.

The Premier League’s best central midfielder this season has been Moises Caicedo. The Ecuadorian’s ball-winning qualities have really come to the fore in a more defensive role under Maresca, and his partnership with Romeo Lavia is blossoming very nicely. Chelsea also like to invert their full-backs so we must not get overloaded in those central areas, but it’s also a ploy we may look to exploit by raiding quickly down the flanks on transitions.

Nicolas Jackson’s pace is also something to look out for. He has been rejuvenated, finding the back of the net six times, and he will look to sprint in behind as often as he can. In those situations, Palmer and Caicedo are especially good at sliding in through balls for him to run onto.

The one issue that should give us encouragement is their lack of clean sheets. Across their last 10 matches the Blues have only shut out minnows Barrow and FC Noah, conceding once or twice in the other eight fixtures. There are eight top-flight teams with a better expected goals against record than Chelsea, so if we attack with positivity and conviction, we should create plenty of chances.

Facts and stats

Chelsea have won just one of their last nine Premier League games against us (D2 L6), a 2-0 away win in August 2021.

We have won three of our last four Premier League away games against Chelsea (D1), as many as we had in our previous 20 visits.

The Blues have lost just one of their last 10 London derbies in the Premier League (W7 D2), however that defeat did come against us in April.

Chelsea have conceded at least once in each of their last six Premier League home games, last having a longer such run between December 2015 and August 2016 (13). With five of those games coming in 2024/25, it’s their longest run without a home clean sheet from the start of a league campaign since 2011/12 (6).

We last lost three in a row on the road in December 2021, while we last did so without scoring in August 1994.

We have lost just one of our last 26 Premier League games on the weekend immediately following a European fixture (W19 D6), against Aston Villa in April.

Of all managers to face Chelsea at least 10 times in the Premier League, only Kenny Dalglish (77%) has a higher win rate against the Blues than Mikel Arteta (60%), who is unbeaten in his five trips to Stamford Bridge.

No player has been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Cole Palmer (7 goals, 5 assists), while he’s also created the most chances from open play (24).

Bukayo Saka has provided more assists than any other player in the Premier League (7). He’s also either scored (1) or assisted (2) a goal in each of his last three away games against Chelsea in the Premier League, with Sergio Aguero and Javier Hernandez the only visiting players to do so in four consecutive appearances.

Match officials

For the third time this season, Michael Oliver has been appointed to one of our games having overseen our win at Villa Park and the 2-2 draw at Manchester City. We have won 30 times in the 60 matches he has officiated, which includes five against the Blues, where we have won three and drawn two.

Chelsea have only tasted success on three out of the last nine he has taken charge of, with the last seeing them beaten by Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final in April. He has brandished 47 yellows and one red in his nine Premier League games this term, but is yet to award a penalty.

Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Stuart Burt, James Mainwaring
Fourth official: Andy Madley
OUR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: Richard West

Recent visits to the Bridge

We are unbeaten in our last five visits to Stamford Bridge, stretching back to August 2018. That run was maintained after we rescued a 2-2 draw last season despite trailing 2-0 in the 76th minute.

Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk had put Mauricio Pocchettino’s team in control, but a 35-yard strike by Rice and a late equaliser from Leandro Trossard salvaged a point. The season before, Gabriel popped up with the winner when he headed in a Bukayo Saka corner to clinch the three points in November 2022.

Five months earlier we had run out 4-2 victors. Eddie Nketiah opened the scoring before Timo Werner equalised, and further goals from Emile Smith Rowe and Cesar Azpilicueta made it 2-2 at the break. However, Nketiah and a late Saka penalty secured victory.

Live coverage

Tune into Live From N5 on Arsenal.com and the official app five minutes before kick-off, as Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke take you through all the action with live commentary of all the on-field action in west London.

You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the action live on TV wherever you are in the world.