Chelsea v Arsenal: Premier League – live!

Arsenal have had some good days at Stamford Bridge in the Arsene Wenger era. Nigel Winterburn’s last-minute winner, Kanu’s absurd 15-minute hat-trick (cheerio, Ed de Goey), Sylvinho’s Nigel Winterburn impression, a swaggering come-from-behind win from the Invincibles. Best of all, perhaps, was Robin van Persie leaving John Terry flat on his face as he raced clear to put Arsenal ahead in that barmy 5-3 win over Andre Villas-Boas’s happy campers in October 2011. See, it hasn’t all been bad.

And Arsenal have actually done surprisingly well against their bogey side since Antonio Conte’s arrival in west London. It’s almost a year since they walloped Chelsea 3-0 at the Emirates, an experience so harrowing for Branislav Ivanovic that the defender started planning his leaving do midway through the first half, and they also stopped Conte’s men from doing the double, outplaying the champions in the FA Cup final in May. Then they beat them in the Community Shield last month. Could the balance of power be shifting? Three wins in four matches! That looks suspiciously like a power shift right there!

Before Arsenal get too excited, however, it’s probably worth remembering that there has been a lot of bad at Stamford Bridge in recent years. The 6-0 on Wenger’s 1000th birthday. A series of Chelsea counter-punches. Diego Costa’s one-man wind-up merchant show in the dog days of the second Mourinho era. And, of course, Conte’s one win over Wenger, secured back in February, a 3-1 victory that pretty much ended any hopes Arsenal had of winning the title. Banned from the touchline, Wenger was sitting in the stands, seething and helpless, watching as Eden Hazard ripped Arsenal apart and sections of the visiting support turned on their manager. Given how these things tend to go, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a repeat this afternoon.
After all, Arsenal’s last away game was that wretched, lily-livered, tactically incompetent 4-0 defeat at Anfield. They’ve started with two defeats on the road, losing at Stoke and Liverpool without scoring a goal, hardly the best way to prepare for a trip to their least favourite ground. After a tame start, Chelsea are beginning to look ominously strong. They have bouncebackability. A month ago, the mood around Stamford Bridge was tense. The Costa brouhaha exacerbated their frustrations in the transfer market and they began the season with a farcical 3-2 home defeat to Burnley. Since then, however, four straight wins. “I trust myself, in my methods,” Conte says. That self-belief is a useful asset for a manager at this club. The Italian says he wasn’t worried when Chelsea crashed at the Emirates last year. That defeat, of course, gave him the platform to make that inspired switch to a back three and, instead of imploding, Chelsea began to motor, steamrollering away from their title rivals. Chelsea probably haven’t reached their peak yet, but Arsenal are probably going to need a complete performance in order to avoid another Stamford Bridge meltdown.
Kick-off: 1.30pm.

SOURCE : GUARDIAN SPORTS
posted by CAMPUS94