Hector Bellerin Arsenal FC EPL
Hector Bellerin Arsenal FC

Arsenal take on Chelsea in their second match of the new Premier League season and if the Gunners lose this then Mikel Arteta will be under a lot of trouble.

The North London were expected to pick up an easy win last weekend against Brentford but in the end, the Bees won the game 2-0 and shocked everyone.

Owing to this defeat, the pressure is on Arsenal’s manager right from the very first week meaning he will have little time to test and experiment with his line-ups, especially against an opponent like Chelsea.

The Gunners missed several players in the opening matchweek and now the club have confirmed that at least four of them have tested positive for COVID. There’s a chance that none of them returns to action which means the North London outfit will miss as many as seven first-team players.

Arsenal team news vs Chelsea:

Gabriel remains on the sidelines with a knee injury and he is ruled out for the Chelsea game. This means Ben White will be partnered by Pablo Mari in central defence.

Calum Chambers had a really poor game against Brentford so the manager might be thinking of bringing Hector Bellerin into the side – at right-back.

Thomas Partey suffered ankle ligament damage during pre-season and will be out for three weeks. So against Chelsea, Lokonga will get to start in central midfield alongside Granit Xhaka.

As Arsenal are still hunting for a new attacking midfielder in the market, Mikel Arteta will have to keep fielding young Emile Smith Rowe in that No 10 role.

 

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Bukayo Saka came off the bench against Brentford but he is surely going to start against Chelsea. If Saka is coming back into the side then Nicolas Pepe will have to move to the left flank to be able to accommodate the England international.

Four Arsenal players tested positive last week which is why they missed the Brentford game. But according to the latest reports, at least Aubameyang could make a comeback as he has tested negative.

An official statement from Arsenal said: “Auba tested positive for Covid-19 and was unavailable for last Friday’s match at Brentford. Auba is now negative on Covid-19 testing, is well and following all protocols for return to play. He will return to training and be assessed prior to Sunday’s match.”

Alex Lacazette, Alex Runarsson and Willian are still recovering and will not be available for selection against Chelsea.

Arsenal predicted line up vs Chelsea:

Predicted Line up(4-2-3-1): Leno; Mari, Ben White, Bellerin/Chambers, Kieran Tierney; Lokonga, Granit Xhaka, Smith Rowe; Pepe/Aubameyang, Bukayo Saka, Martinelli.

Arsenal predicted line up vs Chelsea

Read: This key Gunners forward is not likely to head to the La Liga before deadline day.