Arsenal v. Chelsea Preview: Title-Chasing Gunners Host Bitter London Rivals

Arsenal will aim to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League when they face Chelsea at 16:30 on Sunday.

The Blues meanwhile will be aiming to gain ground in the tight race for Champions League qualification, and dent their city rivals' title hopes.

This will be the sides' fourth meeting this season, and the third pitting Mikel Arteta against Liam Rosenior.

The Form Book

Arsenal will take confidence from an impressive 4-1 win away at North London rivals Tottenham last week. That win lessened the pressure that had been mounting on Mikel Arteta's side, who had dropped points when visiting Brentford and Wolves in their previous two league games.

Despite their changeable away form, Arsenal have won their last four home games, across four different competitions, since their 3-2 defeat at home to Manchester United in January.

Chelsea meanwhile will be looking to bounce back after dropping points from winning positions in the league at home to Burnley and Leeds, either side of a 4-0 win away at Hull in the FA Cup.

That victory was one of five wins out of six on the road for Liam Rosenior since becoming Chelsea boss. His only away defeat as Chelsea boss was the 1-0 loss at The Emirates in the second leg of their Carabao Cup tie with Arsenal.

Head to Head Record

Chelsea have not won any of their last ten meetings with Arsenal, last beating Mikel Arteta's side in a 2-0 away win in August 2021. Of the players involved that day, only Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli, and Chelsea's Reece James and Trevoh Chalobah have remained with their respective clubs. 

Since that game, Chelsea have had five permanent managers, as well as three interims, along with a change of ownership the following spring. Arteta has faced six different Chelsea bosses since becoming Arsenal manager.

Arsenal will also take confidence from their two wins over Chelsea in the Carabao cup this season. The league leaders were held to a draw by the Blues in the league in November however, despite Chelsea playing the entire second half with ten players, after Moises Caicedo's red card.

Key Battle: Set Pieces

There has been much discussion of Arsenal's aggressive corner tactics throughout this season, especially regarding the role of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover. 

Arsenal and Chelsea have taken the second and third most corners in the Premier League this season, behind only Newcastle.

Sunday's hosts also top the league table for goals scored from set pieces with 17, while Chelsea are joint sixth with 12.

Arsenal will look to exploit Chelsea's recent troubles when defending corners, having scored from one seven minutes into the first leg of the pair's Carabao Cup semi-final in January. Chelsea also conceded from a corner in second-half stoppage time in their 1-1 draw with Burnley last week, with Rosenior telling the press that "there was a (Chelsea) player who marked the wrong player" afterwards.

Rosenior may repeat the tactic of instructing his attacking players to sprint up the pitch immediately before Arsenal take a corner. Chelsea attempted this early on in the second leg of the semi-final, but were stopped when the referee blew for a foul in the box, and did not attempt as extreme a version of the tactic again.

What it means

Before kick-off on Sunday, Arsenal's gap at the top of the Premier League may have been cut to two points, depending on the result of title rivals Manchester City's trip to Leeds on Saturday evening. This would mount pressure on the Gunners who are seeking a first league title since 2004, having finished second in the previous three seasons.

Chelsea will begin the weekend in 5th, level on points with Liverpool, and three points behind Manchester United. Their chase for the Champions League places will have been made harder before kick-off if their rivals win at home to West Ham and Crystal Palace respectively. 

It is looking increasingly likely that the Premier League will be granted five places in next season's Champions League, due to English clubs' string performances in Europe this season. Aston Villa's strong league form this season has however left multiple teams with strong European pedigree, including Chelsea uncertain of Champions League qualification, and the financial benefits this brings.

Prediction

Chelsea undoubtedly have quality, especially with striker Joao Pedro in excellent form, having scored in five of his last six league games. They have however struggled to manage leads recently, and will be hampered by injuries, as well as the suspension of Wesley Fofana, following his red card against Burnley. 

Arsenal will be buoyed by their victory over Tottenham, and know they can exploit Chelsea's weaknesses at set pieces.