Just one win in last 11 games vs Arsenal – Are Mikel Arteta’s side Chelsea’s new bogey team?

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Arsenal v Chelsea Sunday 

©TM/IMAGO

This Sunday there’s yet another London derby on offering, as Chelsea go the Emirates. Arsenal’s Premier League title challenge is now all but over, with the Gunners 15 points behind league leaders Liverpool. If Mikel Arteta’s team aren’t careful, they could even be dragged back into the race for the top five – something Chelsea are right in the thick of. However, looking at the Blues’ record against Arsenal in recent years, the west London side may be heading into Sunday’s tie with more fear than excitement.

Chelsea started the season very strongly after a busy summer, in which there were many new arrivals and departures. The Blues were actually second in December. But since then, the shortcomings of their young, bloated squad have began coming to fruition, and pressure has even started to ramp up on manager Enzo Maresca. History tells us you are never safe in the Chelsea dugout. Favourable home fixtures against Southampton and Leicester have offered a welcome respite for the Blues and winning those matches has dragged them back into a solid position in the race for the Premier League top-five. Unfortunately for them, they now face their modern bogey team in north London.

Arteta’s first ever home game in charge at the Emirates actually came against London rivals Chelsea in late December 2019. That day David Luiz, Calum Chambers and Mattéo Guendouzi started for the Gunners. Bukayo Saka is the only player who started that day that’s still with the club. Despite putting up a valiant effort for their new manager, two late goals from Jorginho and Tammy Abraham gave Chelsea all three points. The Blues continued winning against a team they simply loved to play. The Gunners had won just two of their previous 14 Premier League games against Chelsea. In 2014, Chelsea thrashed Arsenal 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in an embarrassing afternoon for Arsène Wenger’s side. Fast forward five years and the tide has really turned. 

As illustrated in the graphic above, since Arteta became Arsenal manager in 2019, Chelsea have won just two of 12 games against the Gunners. The aforementioned victory in Arteta’s first home game, and a 2-0 win at the Emirates at the beginning of the 2022/23 season. Arteta has never lost at Stamford Bridge, and also beat Chelsea in the 2020 FA Cup final. Last season, the north London side really asserted their recent dominance over Chelsea with an emphatic 5-0 win at the Emirates, in which former Blue Kai Havertz scored a brace.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, they will be without Havertz this time around, as well as forwards Saka and Gabriel Jesus, which may give Chelsea some hope of getting a result at the Emirates. However, after having Arsenal in their pockets for many years during the later years of Wenger’s reign, Arteta has very much made this fixture his own, and will be confident of taking more points of the Blues in this Sunday’s showdown.