DERBY DAY
Good afternoon and welcome to the live blog for Arsenal vs Chelsea!
The Gunners come into today’s London derby in need of a win, after losing last Friday’s London derby to league newcomers Brentford 2-0.
Arsenal looked off pace and they couldn’t deal with the Bees’ high press and physicality.
Ben White endured a torrid time up against Ivan Toney, but luckily for him, he’s missing today through illness meaning he won’t have to face the returning Romelu Lukaku.
Boss Mikel Arteta admitted his side lost to the better team on the day.
He said: “I’m disappointed.
“We started the season against a good opponent. I don’t think we deserved anything different.
“They scored from a long throw-in and we didn’t have enough presence in the box.”
As for Chelsea, they comfortably beat a new-look Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace 3-0 at home with academy product Trevoh Chalobah getting on the scoresheet.
Chalobah’s barnstorming pre-season may have earned himself a place in boss Thomas Tuchel’s plans for the season.
The Blues boss was full of praise for the 22-year-old: “He did a fantastic pre-season with us and he’s a very good player and even more importantly a top character.
“He has both feet on the ground and he took his chance very impressively.
“He played very good matches in pre-season, he performed for 120 minutes against Villarreal and another strong 90 minutes against Crystal Palace, so I think it’s very logical that he stays with us and is looking for his chance here.
“Trevoh was a guy that we absolutely wanted to keep.
“He went out for loans, he had the minutes he needed to develop and now it’s a good moment for him to stay with us and to be part of the group and take further steps to fulfil his dream, which is to be part of a strong Chelsea squad, which he is at the moment.
“We trust him and he deserves this, it is not a gift.”
In terms of team news, Arsenal could bring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
back into the side after missing the opening game of the season with coronavirus.
Alexandre Lacazette and Willian also tested positive but it’s not known if they will play against Chelsea.
New signings Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale will play no part in the game.
Thomas Partey and Gabriel are still injured for the Gunners.
And summer signing Ben White is out due to sickness.
As for Chelsea, they have one major absentee in Christian Pulisic, who tested positive for Covid earlier this week.
But Hakim Ziyech and N’Golo Kante could return to action, with record signing Romelu Lukaku also likely to feature today.
The teamsheets are due to be released in half an hour so don’t go anywhere!
Source: The Sun
