Another London derby on Saturday afternoon will find Arsenal and Chelsea in a battle of significant importance. The Gunners are in need of a win to close the six-point gap on Chelsea. On the other hand, the Blues are motivated to hold onto their fourth place in pursuit of a Champions League place.
Both teams have performed inconsistently lately with Arsenal struggling at the back and Chelsea having a hard time in the final third. Unai Emery’s side have picked up just four points from their past four games as a result of switching formations and quite a few defensive injuries. Despite achieving better results, their rivals have failed to deliver consistent performances too. But whats changed since their last meeting and what could we expect of this clash?
Final third performance
Similar to last year Chelsea are in search of a solid striking force. The team desperately needs a new addition to the frontline as Olivier Giroud and Alvaro Morata have failed to meet expectations. Eden Hazard is still their main man, leading his teams goalscoring charts with 10 goals this term, followed by Pedro (seven) and then Morata (five). Sarris side has had some struggles with their end product.
The most evident proof of that is their performance against Tottenham. The Blues produced 17 shots without scoring, compared to Spurs six that resulted in them winning 1-0. As you can see in the image above, half of their shots came from outside the box. This was a result of Tottenhams well-structured defensive line and Chelseas failure to open spaces and use them.
It clearly wont be long till Hazards complexity wont be enough and the team will subsequently lose some points. They are linked with the 31-year-old Gonzalo Higuain, who might be able to help them as it might be his last opportunity to prove himself. It is doubtful that Arsenals sloppy defence will keep a clean sheet, but this is going to be one of those games to show if Sarri has a plan B.
When it comes to the Gunners there is no need to panic o
