Arsenal
and Chelsea go head-to-head this weekend in the meeting of the Premier
League’s top two and a fixture that is always hotly anticipated.
The Blues currently lead their London rivals by 10 points and a win for Jose
Mourinho would give him one hand on the Premier League trophy as victory at
Leicester next Wednesday would secure Chelsea's first title since 2009-10.
Last week they underlined such intentions with a 1-0 win over Manchester
United, PFA Player of the Year favourite Eden Hazard the man on the mark.
Arsenal, meanwhile, are currently on a nine-game winning streak which has
seen them win at United and Manchester City, rout Liverpool 4-1 at the
Emirates Stadium and progress to the FA Cup final for the second successive
season.
Add a dash of personal animosity between the two managers with Arsene Wenger
yet to beat a team managed by Mourinho, and the stage is set for a Sunday
afternoon sizzler.
So what will the key battlegrounds be in Sunday’s match? Alan Curbishley and
Gerry Francis discussed the issues on The Morning View…
What do Arsenal need to do to beat Chelsea?
Francis: “Arsene Wenger has got his beliefs and the way he wants to play but
I think he has changed. In that Manchester City game it was the first time
I’ve ever seen them play like that and it paid big dividends for them.
“They’ve got to do the same if they want to beat Chelsea. They have to adapt
their performances because if they play like the old Arsenal, attacking from
every angle and with both full-backs pushing on the whole time, then Chelsea
will be too strong for them with their counter-attacking and win again.
“They need to be more clever, relaxed and patient because Chelsea will set
up to counter-attack against them.”
Curbishley: “He (Arsene Wenger) doesn’t really consider the opposition.
That’s not just against Chelsea, that’s against the top four, they always
tend to come unstuck.
“They went quite negative at the Etihad, they got behind the ball and
slugged it out. They realised that day you have to make special arrangements
against the top four.”
And how will Chelsea go about getting the victory?
Curbishley: “Their strength is their organisation and their tactics. Jose
Mourinho makes special arrangements when he plays against top-four sides and
he makes sure that he gets a result.
“Last week they got players around (Maroune) Fellaini and he got them to
play on the counter-attack, which is when they are so dangerous.
Francis: “On their day Arsenal can beat anybody but there are certain games
when you have to do things a bit differently. They have got the ability to
beat Chelsea but they have to be a bit more patient.
“If they go all-out Arsenal they will be vulnerable when Chelsea win the
ball back.”
What do you make of the difference in style between the two teams?
Francis: "Arsenal have been great to watch for years but it’s about winning
things.
“Ideally you’d like to win the Premier League title playing excellent
football but there are certain situations where you have to dig out results.
“I don’t think Jose Mourinho is worried about what people will say if they
win the championship, it’s all about results.
Diego Costa is due to return to training this week but Didier Drogba and
Loic Remy are doubts. How does that affect Chelsea’s tactics?
Francis: “They could play with no centre-forward and just break with pace
from midfield whenever they win the ball back, they have done that before.
“One of his main players could be fit and then that takes care of that
decision.”
Curbishley: “I think they deploy the same tactics they did against United.
They’ve been to Old Trafford before, with fully-fit centre-forwards, and
played nobody up front. He’ll use the system he feels will get him a result.
“Jose Mourinho doesn’t get the credit he deserves because people take it for
granted when they do a job on a team. A lot of hard work goes into it and
his team is totally planned and prepared during the week.”
How do you see this one panning out?
Curbishley: “I think Chelsea will win.”
Francis: “To open up the title race, Arsenal need to get the three points
but I think it’ll be a draw.”
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