Arsenal suffered a setback in the opening weekend of the Premier League as they lost to Brentford. But with Chelsea coming to the Emirates this weekend, what kind of team will Mikel Arteta decide to put out?
The manager must be unhappy with the standard of performance last week, as the Gunners looked insipid in attack. They will have to improve a lot to beat the Blues on Sunday, who are in great form.
London Derby FYIs
Kickoff Sun Aug 22, 430pm, Emirates Stadium
Starting XI Predictions: Arsenal Chelsea
Referee: Paul Tierney
Form Guide (All Competitions): Arsenal (LDLLL) Chelsea (WWDWW)
Arteta will stick to the 4-2-3-1 formation that has been used extensively. Bernd Leno starts in goal and will have a challenge keeping the Chelsea attack at bay. The Spaniard is not likely to make any changes to the defence.
Calum Chambers will be the right-back and Kieran Tierney is going to be on the left. In the middle, new signing Ben White will play his first home game along with Brazilian Pablo Mari.
Albert Lokonga is another player who will make his home debut here, as the youngster takes the place of the injured Thomas Partey again.
The Belgian will be partnered with Granit Xhaka and the Swiss midfielder has to be more alert in this game. The Blues are excellent at pressing and can force the north Londoners to make mistakes.
If that happens, they have the players to take advantage of this weakness. Coming to the attack, the one inclusion in the first team, from a bench player will be Bukayo Saka. The Englishman will be key for the Gunners to gain a foothold in the game, as his ability to beat the press is going to be crucial.
Emile Smith Rowe will be the attacking midfielder and Nicolas Pepe will be stationed on the left flank.
With Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang not fully fit, Gabriel Martinelli is set to start as the lone forward. The Brazilian has more experience playing in this position when compared to Folarin Balogun and his energy will be needed to get the better of Chelsea.
Arsenal have a really tough task on their hands, but they can get a win with a strong performance.
Predicted Arsenal Starting XI vs Chelsea (4-2-3-1):
Bernd Leno, Calum Chambers, Ben White, Pablo Mari, Kieran Tierney, Albert Lokonga, Granit Xhaka, Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Nicolas Pepe, Gabriel Martinelli