On Wednesday night, Arsenal take on Chelsea in the Premier League and all the signs are pointing to yet another loss for the Gunners.
Arsenal have suddenly lost three games in a row and these dropped points have pushed them slightly away from the fourth spot on the table. They still have a chance to catch up with Spurs but for that to happen, they will first have to pick up a win against Chelsea.
The Gunners, on paper, look very weak(with all their injuries) and we list down two major reasons why they are likely to falter against Tuchel’s side.
Who is going to score?
Pundit Michael Owen has kind of summed it up in his prediction stating that the transfer of Aubameyang in January, clubbed with the inability to sign a replacement is coming back to haunt Arsenal.
He wrote for BetVictor: “Chelsea look back to their best. They had a dip in form, but the last few performances have been much better. I wouldn’t say they were at their absolute best against Palace, but they controlled the game and made it look like a routine win. I loved Mason Mount’s goal, a brilliant touch and finish inside the box.
“The pressure is mounting on Mikel Arteta and Arsenal. After Spurs dropped points earlier, to lose away to Southampton was a disaster. That’s now three defeats in a row. The glaring worry is the lack of goals, could letting Aubameyang leave in January come back to haunt them?”
Lacazette could be absentee due to COVID and if that is the case then there’s no way Arsenal are going to beat Chelsea. If Laca comes back then their chances will slightly improve but we still think Arsenal’s attacking firepower is not enough to challenge Silva or Rudiger.
Apart from Bukayo Saka, none of the Arsenal attackers has the pedigree to go head-on with the Chelsea backline and come out unscratched.
An imbalanced midfield for Arsenal?
The Gunners will also be without Thomas Partey who is out for a few weeks due to a muscle injury and this is the area where Arsenal will likely lose ground on Chelsea.
Mateo Kovacic might be out injured but Tuchel still has quality players like Kante, Jorginho and Loftus-Cheek to call upon. On the other side, Mikel Arteta will have to rely on the pairing of Xhaka and Lokonga.
These two can never match up with the Chelsea midfielders in terms of pace, skill or quality and the Blues take control of the middle of the pitch then Arsenal are going to be in for a rough night. This is the same Chelsea side who took on Real Madrid’s midfield and came out on top(in the 2nd leg).
The Gunners anyhow need all three points to be able to maintain the pressure on Spurs and Man United but in reality, if they can even come out with a hard-fought draw, it will be a massively successful game for them.
