Arsenal vs Chelsea: Another London derby in store for fans
London powerhouses Chelsea and Arsenal are set to renew acquaintances as the two cross-town rivals square off in Dublin on Wednesday. This will be the first time the new coaches of Arsenal and Chelsea, Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri match wits, and despite it being a friendly as part of the American-based International Champions Cup, it will be a game both sides will take seriously.
Arsenal will be feeling quite confident after cruising to a 5-1 win over PSG, and the Gunners will hope that positive momentum will help to see them past Chelsea, who is still trying to adjust to new manager Sarri’s style. Mesut Ozil is back with the squad after retiring from international duty due to racism and general mistreatment on the part of Germany’s football association, and along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, will be expected to help spearhead Arsenal’s attack. Only Lucas Torreira and Danny Welbeck are still missing, meaning that Emery has a full-strength squad available for this game.
After finishing sixth and missing out on the Champions League, a top four finish is the minimum that Arsenal must achieve in the upcoming Premier League season. Of course, that will be much easier said than done in the ultra-competitive English top flight. Chelsea is another side who will have to contend with playing in the Europa League after finishing in fifth, and the Blues will be determined to make sure that slogging it out in Europe’s second-tier competition isn’t going to become a habit season after season.
Antonio Conte was finally relieved of his duties as Chelsea’s executives turned to another Italian tactician, Maurizio Sarri, to try to steer the club back on track. Sarri has yet to win any major silverware whatsoever, but he was named as Serie A’s coach of the year back in 2017. Furthermore, he helped to steer Napoli to a runners-up spot in Serie A but was unable to prevent juggernauts Juventus from ultimately winning the Scudetto.
Some of his detractors do point to the fact that he effectively sacrificed any other competition as Napoli solely focused on winning the Scudetto – and it backfired miserably. Still, having seen that approach fail, it’s really unlikely he will take the same single-minded approach now that he is in charge of a Chelsea squad that on paper, are somewhat stronger than the team he had in Southern Italy. He’s already poached one player – Jorginho – who seems to be settling in quite well, and given that he’s at Stamford Bridge, it very well could have been his new side that reportedly tried to make a big bid for Senegalese defender Kalidou Koulibaly that Napoli apparently rejected.
Of concern, of course, is trying to convince Belgian duo Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois to stay put in London. Both have been the subject of interest from Real Madrid for a while and could be tempted by a move to the Spanish capital in order to play Champions League football. So far, Chelsea is unbeaten in its international friendlies, but neither were convincing results. First was a narrow 1-0 win over Australian outfit Perth Glory, followed by squeezing by Serie A side Inter on spot-kicks in its first ICC game.
Still, it will take time for Sarri’s methods to click with his new team. Will Chelsea win its first meeting with Arsenal this season ahead of the upcoming Community Shield tie this weekend? Or will the Gunners continue in the same vein of form and deal the Blues a major blow?
