For many years Arsenal had the Indian sign over Chelsea with the latter annually underachieving despite spending vast amounts of money under Ken Bates, before he very nearly ran the club into the ground. In fact, before, the arrival of the oil money Chelsea had just the solitary league title under their belt way back from 1955. But with their new found wealth and under the guidance of the self-lauded special one (TSO) they have won back to back titles and will be looking for the hat-trick this season.

And, of course, Chelsea were at the centre of one of the most sordid transfers of all time which, unfortunately, involved Arsenal and a certain Mr. Cole. I’m not going to go into details about the Ashley Cole affair as there has been a wealth of material written about it but, one thing is for certain, Ashley is going to get a barrage of abuse from the crowd like he has never known before, and I for one will have absolutely no sympathy for him. Whatsoever. By the way, has anyone even bothered to read his book? No? Thought not - me neither. The whole thing still makes my blood boil… ggrr…

Gallas may also be susceptible to some sort of abuse from the Chelsea fans as, he too, left his former employers under a cloud of storm. Although, unlike Ashley who was willing to sell ‘his side of the story’ to the highest bidder, we have yet to hear Gallas’s point of view. But from what I gather from my Chelsea supporting friends (poor lads) Gallas is still held in high regard amongst the fans as he was a player who always gave 100% and had a genuine grievance about being played out of position. Nevertheless one suspects there will be a few jeers heading his way.

Which brings us nicely to the game itself. Like I have said it is a shame that Arsenal are out of the title race as this would have been an absolute cracker of a game and the media (Sky especially) would have hyped it up no end. But, Premiership positions aside, the game still has the potential to be one of the season’s best. Make no mistake, Arsenal have a point to prove and Arsène will want to get a result at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. He feels there is not a 10 point difference between the 2 teams and will see this weekend as the perfect opportunity to demonstrate this.

Unfortunately for Arsène he has, yet again, another defensive crisis as injuries and suspensions have taken their toll. Toure is suspended, Gallas is a huge doubt and Djourou has picked up a knock in Portugal. I’m hoping Djourou will be OK and a part of me thinks that Arsène might be playing mind games when saying Gallas is only 20% fit (I’m hoping so anyway!). If not then the defence could be severely weakened with perhaps a midfielder slotting in at centre back. Attacking wise we are without Henry and Rosicky who along with Fabregas are our most creative players. So is it time perhaps to finally unleash Julio Baptista? We have only seen him in fits and starts so far but this could be the perfect stage to finally let him loose and and to prove what he is truly capable of.

As far as I know Chelsea have no major injury worries (except their keeper problems) ahead of the game so they will be at full strength. And Chelsea at full strength at Stamford Bridge makes for a formidable outfit. In fact Chelsea have never lost in the Premiership at home whilst TSO has been at the helm. Whatever you say about Chelsea; that is one incredible record. The key will be in midfield where Chelsea have an enormous wealth of talent and are able to close down the opposition extremely quickly - Fabregas needs to find room so he can put Chelsea under pressure with his clever passing. The back 4 will need to work as a solid unit and not make any silly mistakes that have been so costly in previous games. Defending sensibly from set pieces is an absolute must with both Terry and Ballack more than capable of scoring with their heads.

All in all, the players needs to be at the top of their game to get any sort of result. And I for one think that Arsenal are more than capable of getting a result; we have beaten Spurs, Liverpool and Manchester United, and I know Chelsea away is extremely tough, but I honestly think that Arsène will have the players so motivated for this game that I have a sneaky suspicion that the Arsenal might just get all 3 points…

Labels: arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Chelsea, EPL, Mourinho