This weeks Premier League game sees an in form Arsenal side play top of the league Chelsea.  Arsenal come into the game on the back of an impressive 1-1 draw away to champions Manchester City and a comfortable 6-1 victory over League 1’s Coventry City in the Capital One Cup.  Chelsea unconvincingly beat Stoke last weekend 1-0 but remain top of the league after five games.

Strong starters

This season has seen both teams make impressive starts to the season.  Two unbeaten starts in all competitions have convinced many people that both teams have the potential to rival the big Manchester clubs for the title this season.

Although Chelsea lie four points above the Gunners in the league, many have suggested that the Blues are yet to play a team of real quality in the league this season.  When they came across stern opposition in the Champions league, they showed their inability to hold a lead.  If the Juventus game taught us anything it’s that Arsenal have a real chance on Saturday.

Another thing that the formbook teaches us is that the game on Saturday could be a defensive master class.  Both teams have only conceded two goals this campaign so the game could be a close affair.

Turning of the Tides

Recent history of this fixture has shown how until the last couple of seasons, Arsenal vs Chelsea only meant one thing.  Arsenal are currently on a three match unbeaten run against the blues but prior to this the history between these sides was a very different story.

Before Arsenal’s 3-1 win over Chelsea in 2010, the Gunners lost five in a row against the South Londoners.  In fact, in the 18 games before the 3-1 victory, Arsenal only managed two victories.  Despite Chelsea’s previous dominance of this fixture, Arsenal showed last season that they can comfortably beat the Blues and they will be looking to do so tomorrow.

Key Battles

For me, the key factor in this match will be whether either team can brake the others defence.  Both teams have struggled to find a key striker this season and their defences have been superb.  Fernando Torres is still struggling to live up to his ridiculous price tag and Olivier Giroud is yet to make his mark on the Premier League since completing his summer move from Montpellier.

At the other end of the pitch Arsenal have finally been able to repeatedly select the same back four with the exception of Last weekend.  The Man City match showed us that we are spoilt for choice when it comes to central defence and after Koscielny’s excellent game last weekend, it will be interesting to see how are captain will find his way back into the side.

Chelsea’s defence has also been excellent this season but key man John Terry has just been handed a four-match ban after being found guilty of racially abusing Anton Ferdinand.  Although Terry could appeal this decision and therefore play in the game, it’s not yet clear whether he will and Gary Cahill could be set to play in Terry’s place.

It will be interesting to see who Arsene Wenger will pick to play up front against Chelsea, the way I see it there are three likely candidates.  New signing Olivier Giroud is evidently Arsene’s most obvious choice, an out and out centre forward.  Although he was side-lined against Man City, he did net his first Arsenal goal this week against Coventry and this confidence booster could be a good reason for Wenger to give him a chance.

Against Southampton and Manchester City, the unlikely face of Gervinho has been occupying the ‘false number nine’ role as many pundits have pointed out.  In both games he has created superb chances for himself, which is a sign of quality.  However, appalling finishing in the Manchester City game could mean that he has lost Mr Wenger’s trust and could be replaced.

The third option comes in the form of Theo Walcott.  The unsettled Englishman has claimed that the contract problem is not about money, it is about his lack of opportunities up front.  After his superb performance against Coventry, where he netted two impressive finishes, Mr Wenger might finally decide to give him a shot at the central role that he craves.  Theo of course has previous scoring credentials against Chelsea, netting in both the 5-3 victory last season, the 3-1 victory I mentioned earlier and of course the carling cup final all those years ago.

Predicted line ups

With this in mind here’s a team Arsene could pick alongside who I believe will line up for Chelsea

Mannone, Gibbs, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Jenkinson, Arteta, Ramsey, Podolski, Cazorla, Gervinho, Walcott

Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Luiz, Cole, Mikel, Mata, Hazard, Lampard, Ramires, Torres

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