Arsenal V Chelsea: The Mind Series. Build Up And The Team Predictions
So we return to the pre-season games after an interruption with the cancellation of the American trip, with the game against Chelsea.
Despite the cancellation of the American meander we have managed to put in a few friendly games
- 13 July: Hibernian 2-1 Arsenal (Easter Road)
- 17 July: Rangers 2-2 Arsenal (Ibrox Stadium)
- 24 July: Arsenal 4-1 Millwall (London Colney)
- 28 July: Arsenal 4-1 Watford (London Colney)
I may well have missed something but all I have seen written up for Chelsea are two such games…
- 17 July: Chelsea 6-1 Peterborough (Cobham Training Centre)
- 27 July: Bournemouth 1-2 Chelsea (Vitality Stadium)
Investment in Chelsea’s squad has been astronomical of late although in the last six years the League has been a bit of a roller coaster for them with a finishing position of 1st, 3rd, 4th (twice), 5th and 10th. Better than Arsenal of course – 2nd, 3rd, 5th (twice), 6th and 8th (twice) – but we haven’t sunk quite as low as 10th. Nor have we spent anything like the amount of money.
Since 2016 Chelsea have had four managers: Antonio Conte, Maurizio Sarri, Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel.
Arsenal have also had four: Arsene Wenger, Unai Emery, Freddie Ljungberg and Mikel Arteta.
Overall we are still comfortably in the lead in terms of games against them, winning 80, losing 65 and drawing 58. And indeed our recent performances against them have not been at all bad. For of the last 14 from May 2017 to May 2021 Arsenal have won seven, lost three and drawn four.
Interestingly those last two victories marked the start and end of our glorious run last season in which through the final two thirds of the season we had the second best performances of any club in the league in terms of points and goals.
This summer Chelsea have let 22 players go, including Olivier Giroud and Fiyako Tomori (£30m to Milan) but have only brought in the keeper Marcus Bettinelli on a free.
Overall they have released five players, two players transferred on a free, seven leaving for an undisclosed sum, six going out on loan, and four leaving for a disclosed fee, suggesting that the Chelsea approach of buying up lots of youngsters and farming them out to their favoured clubs has continued. But so far this season what is lacking here is what we used to see (and what Chelsea were so heavily criticised for) – that loaning out of youngsters to favoured clubs around Europe.
We have now spent £17.2m on Lokonga, £6.8m on Tavares and £50 on White.
In terms of injuries we have Gabriel dos Santos Magalhaes with a knee injury and that’s all.
