The Barclays Premier is now lighting up with some crucial and exciting games coming up and none is more mouth-watering than a London Derby featuring the Gunners of Arsenal and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea. Arsenal find themselves off top spot for the first time in just over three months and will be looking to take all three points at home to reclaim their position from current leaders Liverpool.
The Barclays Premier is now lighting up with some crucial and exciting games coming up and none is more mouth-watering than a London Derby featuring the Gunners of Arsenal and Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea. Arsenal find themselves off top spot for the first time in just over three months and will be looking to take all three points at home to reclaim their position from current leaders Liverpool.
Arsene Wenger will know the task that his team is facing whenever they take on a Chelsea team managed by Mourinho. Wenger is yet to record a victory over the Portuguese and despite Chelsea not playing well at the moment, the Blues will look to put a halt in Arsenal’s title charge. The Gunners have failed to record a victory in their last four encounters against their London rivals so they are well aware that Chelsea are more than capable of taking all three points.
Arsenal has been the most consistent team in the premiership so far after their opening day defeat to Aston Villa but they were brought crashing back to Earth following a 6-3 thrashing at the hand of title challengers Manchester City. Wenger will demand an instant response from his boys and what better way to make a huge statement than to defeat Mourinho’s Chelsea? Wenger will miss only Laurent Koscielny through injury and Jack Wilshire due to suspension so the French manager has a relatively full squad to choose from.
Chelsea on the other hand has so far failed to hit top form and Mourinho must be concerned by his team’s performances so far this season. The Portuguese still seems to be searching for his best eleven and more so his best defensive partnership because that seems to be the problem area for the Blues. Having crashed out of the Capital One Cup in mid-week, Mourinho will also be seeking an instant response from his team. The Portuguese also has a healthy squad to choose from but has confirmed that Ashley Cole will not start against his former club.
They player in focus for this fixture is Arsenal’s German international Mesut Ozil. The 24 year old playmaker was brought to Real Madrid by Mourinho in the summer of 2010 and has since developed into one of if not the best playmaker in the world. Wenger splashed 42M in the summer transfer market for the German who has helped transform the Gunners into genuine title contenders. Ozil has scored 4 goals in the league so far and has bagged 7 assists in his 13 league games for the Gunners.
Mourinho has stated that the German in simply unstoppable. He was quoted in the Metro saying, ‘I think I know how to try to stop him to be in the game, with 90 minutes of direct influence. But it’s impossible to stop him for 90 minutes, because these kind of players they will have always a moment or a couple of moments where you cannot stop them and they end up showing why they are so good.’ He continued, ‘To stop him completely, I don’t believe we can. He’s a phenomenal player. He’s one of those players that you buy and you complete the puzzle of your team.’
This fixture is set up for some great entertainment, lots of goals based on recent meetings and the three points for either team will be huge. Both sets of fans will be hoping for a victory while others at the top may see a draw as a great result. Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Everton and Liverpool have all recorded victories this weekend and so the race at the top is heating up quite nicely. It’s hard to select a team to win the title at this point because a lot of them are in with a chance and this is what makes the Barclays Premier League so exciting.
Photo: Arsene Wenger (AP)
Yashiema Love
Senior Contributor
GIVEMESPORTS Writing Academy
Cell: 862-9107
Email: yashiemalove15@yahoo.com
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