In his pre-match press conference, conducted on Thursday morning, Arsène Wenger confirmed the unsurprising team news ahead of Sunday afternoon’s clash with league leaders Chelsea. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain remains unavailable, having not trained at all since his injury in the FA Cup game at Old Trafford and despite being back in full training, Mikel Arteta remains “still a bit short physically to go into a game of that intensity”.


I would hope and expect that he is back on the bench for the home game against Swansea next Monday.

 

The only other update was on Per Mertesacker. He has been, in Arsène’s words, “in the treatment room” all week, and stated he does not know whether or not he will be available. Should he not be available, barring the unforeseen Gabriel will play in his place. While Gabriel has been impressive enough in his early outings, Laurent Koscielny and he are stylistically very similar, and their partnership has not been especially convincing. But at home, when Arsenal will have to push up somewhat, it should get by without too many problems.

 

The absence of the captain and potential absence of his second in command present problems for Arsenal. Though both have been deeply unfairly maligned by many, they remain two of the most important players in the squad. Arsenal have barely threatened to control a game from deep all season without Arteta; against most opposition, Mesut Özil’s intelligence and ability to control proceedings higher up have negated this issue.

 

But most of the teams Arsenal have played have been significantly weaker than this Chelsea side. If they line up for this picture as they did for this fixture last season, Arsenal will find themselves confronted with a bulletproof door with another reinforced steel door on the other side of it. The block that Reading put together last week was not exactly convincing but it managed to keep Arsenal out but for one piece of brilliance from Özil and a combination of individual skill and luck from Alexis Sánchez.

 

The main issue for Arsenal was the inability to build play from deep positions. It has been a problem right through the time Arteta has been out. Last week and away at Monaco, two times when Özil and the rest’s ability higher up needed greater support from the base of the midfield, Coquelin was replaced and Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey played as a pair in deep midfield. Starting with such a setup would be suicide, especially against a team who can counterattack with as much quality as Chelsea.

 

The main point is that if Arsenal find themselves locked out again as they did last year, trying to create cogent attacking play will prove even more difficult than it did then. They could try and press more from the front, as they did through the Liverpool game, but if Chelsea avoid the ball as much as they did then, and indeed last week against Manchester United, it will not bring an awful lot.

 

Hopefully Héctor Bellerín and Nacho Monreal will be reinstated at the expenses of their inferiors, though I am more expectant on the latter than the former. Olivier Giroud should start, and Cazorla will likely remain central as Coquelin’s technical protection, meaning Ramsey will probably be pushed out to the right again. Personally I would like Ramsey and Cazorla to switch positions but if Chelsea press as they themselves can, Coquelin will need the best protection he can get. In an ideal world Wojciech Szczesny will be back in goal, but I won't be holding my breath on that one.

 

The main headline going into the game is the return of Cesc Fàbregas to the Emirates for the first time since his 2011 departure to Barcelona. Plenty of Arsenal fans will boo him, personally I will not. His first departure was very poorly done by Fàbregas himself, but given the level of the teams he held together during his time here, he earned his right to move on and childishly acted out in his desire to do so. 

 

He wanted to come back, but the club, rightfully, said that Arsenal were set in the positions he could occupy. He took the next best offer to him. But that’s my stance. I wouldn’t try to tell people how to act towards him.

 

If Arsenal win they are 7 points behind Chelsea with 5 games apiece remaining. Had Chelsea dropped points in even one of their previous 3 games, the gap would be close enough to really put pressure on this tiring Chelsea side, but it is probably just that bit too late now. It was definitely alive at one point but Asmir Begovic and Rob Green pulled the plug before it cold breathe independently. It’s never dead until it’s mathematically impossible, but it will need a monumental resuscitation job from here.

 

A lot is made of Arsène’s inability so far to beat Jose Mourinho in 12 attempts. While the matchday squad has issues, the team is on a run of 9 consecutive wins, confidence is high, they are home to a tiring team who will probably not look to expand out of their own half an awful lot. This game presents a great chance for Arsène to get his win, but Arsenal will have to be wary of the threat Chelsea pose; especially of the fantastic PFA Player of the Year-elect Eden Hazard.