English Premier League: London’s finest collide
Arsenal, Chelsea have had mixed starts but will be looking to up the ante at The Bridge
Ozil and Hazard will both be looking to open up the opposition defences in what is expected to be a toughly contested match at Stamford Bridge. PHOTO: AFP
LONDON:
The old maxim that a week is a long time in football rings true for both teams ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal won 2-0 against Stoke City last weekend to move into the top four for the first time this season, while Chelsea’s 3-1 loss at Everton — their third in four games — left the defending champions a huge 11 points below leaders Manchester City in 17th place.
But while Chelsea were beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, Arsenal were crashing to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb, realigning — albeit subtly — their respective trajectories.
“We come with a different feeling. We can wake up with a different state of mind,” said Jose Mourinho. “Saturday is a big match; it’s a great rival. This result can put us in a better situation.”
While the significance of Chelsea’s victory must be weighed against the relative weakness of their opponents, there were encouraging signs to be drawn from their performance.
Diego Costa scored, Cesc Fabregas rediscovered his powers of influence and the rejigged defence kept a first clean sheet since the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on May 3 that clinched last season’s title.
Short of a woeful early penalty from Eden Hazard, who is still to recapture the heights of last season, there was little to concern Mourinho, who saw Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 19, turn in an assured display in central midfield.
If Wednesday’s Group G victory demonstrated the strength in depth that Chelsea possess, the opposite was true in Zagreb, where Arsene Wenger’s decision to make six changes blew up in his face as they ended up on the wrong side of a 2-1 loss.
“We need to move on now,” said Theo Walcott, who came on from the bench to score Arsenal’s goal at the Maksimir Stadium. “We have got a big, important game at the weekend. Everyone will be very disappointed, but the manager will make sure that it’s put to bed in the changing room and that it will stay there.”
It will be a long time before Arsenal can visit Stamford Bridge without thinking about the humiliating 6-0 defeat that befell them there in March 2014 on the occasion of Wenger’s 1,000th game at the helm.
However, the Frenchman beat Mourinho at the 14th attempt when the teams last met in the Community Shield at Wembley, where a smart first-half strike by Oxlade-Chamberlain settled matters.
Manchester City hope for boost from Aguero return
League leaders Manchester City hope Sergio Aguero’s early return from injury can spark an immediate response after their latest Champions League meltdown.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side were buoyant after winning their opening five Premier League matches, so it was all the more surprising when they lost 2-1 at home to Juventus on Tuesday.
The task now for City is to pick up their domestic momentum again by claiming a 12th successive Premier League victory.
However, standing in their way is a West Ham side that has collected away wins over Arsenal and Liverpool already this season.
The Argentina striker, forced off during the first half of last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, was initially ruled out of the Juventus game, only to appear for the last seven minutes as a substitute. “It was a risk to use him,” said Pellegrini. “I tried not to because if he got a kick in the same place, it could take him more days to recover.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2015.
The old maxim that a week is a long time in football rings true for both teams ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.
Arsenal won 2-0 against Stoke City last weekend to move into the top four for the first time this season, while Chelsea’s 3-1 loss at Everton — their third in four games — left the defending champions a huge 11 points below leaders Manchester City in 17th place.
But while Chelsea were beating Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, Arsenal were crashing to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb, realigning — albeit subtly — their respective trajectories.
“We come with a different feeling. We can wake up with a different state of mind,” said Jose Mourinho. “Saturday is a big match; it’s a great rival. This result can put us in a better situation.”
While the significance of Chelsea’s victory must be weighed against the relative weakness of their opponents, there were encouraging signs to be drawn from their performance.
Diego Costa scored, Cesc Fabregas rediscovered his powers of influence and the rejigged defence kept a first clean sheet since the 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on May 3 that clinched last season’s title.
Short of a woeful early penalty from Eden Hazard, who is still to recapture the heights of last season, there was little to concern Mourinho, who saw Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 19, turn in an assured display in central midfield.
If Wednesday’s Group G victory demonstrated the strength in depth that Chelsea possess, the opposite was true in Zagreb, where Arsene Wenger’s decision to make six changes blew up in his face as they ended up on the wrong side of a 2-1 loss.
“We need to move on now,” said Theo Walcott, who came on from the bench to score Arsenal’s goal at the Maksimir Stadium. “We have got a big, important game at the weekend. Everyone will be very disappointed, but the manager will make sure that it’s put to bed in the changing room and that it will stay there.”
It will be a long time before Arsenal can visit Stamford Bridge without thinking about the humiliating 6-0 defeat that befell them there in March 2014 on the occasion of Wenger’s 1,000th game at the helm.
However, the Frenchman beat Mourinho at the 14th attempt when the teams last met in the Community Shield at Wembley, where a smart first-half strike by Oxlade-Chamberlain settled matters.
Manchester City hope for boost from Aguero return
League leaders Manchester City hope Sergio Aguero’s early return from injury can spark an immediate response after their latest Champions League meltdown.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side were buoyant after winning their opening five Premier League matches, so it was all the more surprising when they lost 2-1 at home to Juventus on Tuesday.
The task now for City is to pick up their domestic momentum again by claiming a 12th successive Premier League victory.
However, standing in their way is a West Ham side that has collected away wins over Arsenal and Liverpool already this season.
The Argentina striker, forced off during the first half of last Saturday’s 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, was initially ruled out of the Juventus game, only to appear for the last seven minutes as a substitute. “It was a risk to use him,” said Pellegrini. “I tried not to because if he got a kick in the same place, it could take him more days to recover.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 19th, 2015.