Arsenal Title Charge Gets Chelsea Test in London Derby

Arsenal title quest passed a litmus test penultimate weekend as the Gunners ended Manchester City’s hoodoo with a 1-0 win at the Emirate Stadium. Next in line for the Mikel Arteta side is a London derby against Chelsea, who seem to have found their mojo with a statement win away to Premier League new comer, Burnley before the international break. Aside the three points at stake, the bragging right as to which of the two sides is truly the Pride of London will also be in contention

Top spot in the Premier League table could be Arsenal’s for at least 48 hours this weekend, as the Gunners trek to Stamford Bridge to square off with London rivals, Chelsea this evening.

Only an inferior goals tally is keeping Mikel Arteta’s men behind Tottenham Hotspur, whose former head coach Mauricio Pochettino is belatedly finding his feet in the blue half of West London.

For the second time in the space of as many months, Chelsea winger Raheem Sterling was overlooked for a place in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad – much to the bemusement of the Blues faithful as the Three Lions qualified for Euro 2024 without him.

However, Chelsea fans may have felt a small sense of gratitude towards the England manager, as Sterling’s latest omission invoked a fire within the attacker’s belly, and he inspired his side to an emphatic come-from-behind triumph against newly-promoted Burnley two weekends ago.

Despite breaking the deadlock through Wilson Odobert, the Clarets succumbed to an Ameen Al-Dakhil own goal, Cole Palmer’s penalty, Sterling’s effort across goal and a much-needed strike for Nicolas Jackson in a 4-1 romping, stretching the Blues’ winning run across all tournaments to three matches.

With successes over Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham under their belts as well, Chelsea have prevailed in three consecutive fixtures for the first time since Graham Potter’s final few weeks in March 2023, but their 11th-placed standing in the Premier League rankings is not a sight for sore eyes.

Nevertheless, the expensively-assembled hosts could now prolong their recent revival by winning three Premier League games on the bounce for the first time since October 2022, but they have lost both of their last top-flight home contests to Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest by a 1-0 scoreline, which coincidentally proved enough for Arsenal to lift their Manchester City curse.

Not since the days of Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud working in tandem had Arsenal got one over Pep Guardiola’s team in the Premier League, and a few Gooners may have resigned themselves to another Citizens crushing when Bukayo Saka’s record-breaking streak of Premier League appearances was broken.

A penny for Aaron Ramsdale’s thoughts as David Raya cut an incredibly nervous figure in the early exchanges, but without midfield maestros Kevin De Bruyne and Rodri, a tepid Man City crop soon ran out of ideas in attack and were condemned to a narrow defeat courtesy of Gabriel Martinelli’s deflected late winner.

Responding to a deserved Champions League beating at the hands of Lens in exceptional fashion, Arsenal went into the international break as one of only two teams in the Premier League still unbeaten after eight fixtures, level on points (20) and goal difference (+10) with Tottenham, but the Lilywhites top the rankings by virtue of scoring two more goals.

However, with Ange Postecoglou’s team not in action until Monday, Arsenal could finish the weekend atop the pile with all three points at Stamford Bridge, where they could potentially begin a Premier League campaign with four wins and four clean sheets away from home for the very first time.

The Gunners are the only team in the division to boast a perfect defensive record on their travels thus far, and Stamford Bridge has become a happy hunting ground for Arsenal – who have won each of their last three Premier League fixtures there and a 3-1 Emirates success in May made it six wins from their last seven against their adversaries in blue.

Meanwhile, Premier League champions Manchester City will attempt to return to winning ways when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium this afternoon.

While the Citizens are striving to avoid a third successive top-flight defeat for the first time since 2016, the Seagulls are hoping to end a four-game winless run in all competitions.

October’s international break arguably came at a good time for Man City to reset following an uncharacteristic run of three defeats in four matches across all competitions – a 3-1 Champions League group-stage win over RB Leipzig being the only success celebrated over the last four weeks.

After coming up short against Newcastle United in the EFL Cup and then Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League, City hoped that their win over Leipzig would act as a catalyst to turn their fortunes around heading into a top-flight showdown with Arsenal. However, a sluggish showing and a late deflected goal from Martinelli ultimately resulted in a slender 1-0 loss in North London, condemning the Citizens to back-to-back league defeats for just the second time under manager Pep Guardiola.

Just one shot on target was registered by Man City against the Gunners, remarkably the fewest shots a Guardiola team has ever produced in a league fixture for more than a decade, and the reigning top-flight champions now find themselves sitting third in the table, two points adrift of both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur after eight games.

City’s domestic blip in form coincided with the absence of suspended lynchpin Rodri, while Erling Haaland’s hot streak in front of goal briefly fizzled out before he laced his shooting boots on international duty with Norway. Nevertheless, Guardiola is confident that his side “will come back stronger” as they continue their pursuit of a record-breaking fourth successive Premier League title.

After enduring their recent wobble across four consecutive away matches, Man City will certainly welcome this weekend’s return to the Etihad where they have won each of their last 20 games across all tournaments – a club record, scoring 65 goals and conceding just 10 in the process.

The Citizens also boast an impressive record against Brighton as they have never lost in 13 previous home league meetings, winning 11 and drawing two; City have won each of their last nine home encounters with the Seagulls by an aggregate score of 24-3, including a 3-1 victory last season.

Brighton have also experienced a dip in form over the last month, winning just one of their last five matches in all competitions, although Roberto De Zerbi will have taken positives from his side rescuing 2-2 draws in their last two games against Marseille and Liverpool in the Europa League and Premier League respectively.