The Emirates Stadium hosts a huge London derby in the Premier League tonight. Arsenal entertain their capital rivals in N7 desperate to breathe new life into their stalled title bid, having been consumed by the Manchester City juggernaut of late. Three successive draws followed by a humbling at the Etihad and City’s latest win at Fulham means the Gunners have now been replaced at the top, trailing by a point having played a game more.
Arsenal simply must beat Chelsea this evening to still have any chance of realising their title dreams, with City hosting struggling West Ham tomorrow night. They face a Blues team yearning for victory themselves having lost all five of their matches to date under interim manager Frank Lampard, exiting the Champions League and sitting 12th in the table having yet to eclipse the 40-point mark.
Arsenal have won five of their last six games against Chelsea, but still don’t have William Saliba fit. Lampard’s hopes are at least boosted by the return of top scorer Kai Havertz from injury. Follow Arsenal vs Chelsea live below, with expert analysis from Simon Collings and Nizaar Kinsella at the Emirates.
Live updates
Chelsea team news
Chelsea XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, W. Fofana, Silva, Chilwell; Kante, Fernandez, Kovacic; Madueke, Aubameyang, Sterling.
Subs: Mendy, Badiashile, Chalobah, Gallagher, Loftus-Cheek, Mudryk, Felix, Ziyech, Havertz
Arsenal team news
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale; White, Gabriel, Kiwior, Zinchenko; Jorginho, Xhaka, Odegaard; Trossard, Saka, Jesus
Subs: Turner, Holding, Tierney, Partey, Vieira, Smith Rowe, Nelson, Martinelli, Nketiah
This is your 10-minute warning. Teamsheets from both clubs will be dropping at 7pm BST.
The Evening Standard’s reporter is in place.
The stage is set
Calm before the storm at the Emirates Stadium etc etc.
‘Boehly doesn’t understand football’
Former Chelsea full-back Glen Johnson has told the club’s owner Todd Boehly that he’s shown a lack of understanding about football since acquiring the club a year ago.
This is what Johnson said on behalf of King Casino Bonus:
“Todd Boehly is the face of Chelsea, and when you are at the head of the board you are going to take all the blame regardless. I don’t know what their structure is at the moment, but I do know that Boehly doesn’t have the greatest understanding of football.
The first thing I would do is understand football and its rules, as well as the roles of the managers and responsibilities before I insert myself into the mix. He is certainly a big part of the blame.”
Changes for Arsenal? Lampard to release shackles?
In around one hour’s time, we’ll get the official team news from the Emirates Stadium.
There’s been a lot of talk about Jorginho potentially getting a start for Arsenal against his former club. Leandro Trossard could also come back into the reckoning for Mikel Arteta’s men.
Meanwhile, will Frank Lampard continue with his safety-first 3-5-1-1 approach or can he release the shackles and field some of Chelsea’s many forward talents to unsettle the Gunners?
Arsenal vs Chelsea match odds
These are the odds currently being offered by bookmakers Betway ahead of tonight’s game, with Arsenal big favourites to inflict yet another defeat on Frank Lampard’s beleaguered Blues:
- Arsenal: 1/2
- Draw: 10/3
- Chelsea: 5/1
Kai Havertz has suggested that Todd Boehly’s overhaul of the Chelsea squad has contributed to their abysmal season this year. Below is a snippet of what he said – find the full comments here.
“We got a lot of new players over the winter who first have to settle in with us in order to be able to show their quality.
“Of course, it’s easy to find excuses. I’m not blaming everything on something. At the end of the day, we’re all professional footballers and we have to win football games.”
