Chelsea and Arsenal’s Premier League clash this Saturday serves as a key litmus test of how much these sides have improved since the end of last season and to what extent they’ve successfully adapted to the ideals and ideas of their new managers. Indeed, both clubs missed out on Champions League qualification in 2017/18 and have since looked to usher in new eras through the respective appointments of Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery.

So Saturday’s encounter will tell us who has made more progress and potentially who has a better shot of qualifying for Europe’s top competition this time around. Our match preview, covering everything you need to know before the 5.30pm kickoff, should shed some light on the likeliest outcome…

What History Tells Us

Just two wins separate the London rivals from their 52 Premier League encounters to date, but the accumulation of those victories has been far less even. Indeed, Chelsea failed to beat Arsenal in the Premier League until 2005, a run spanning ten defeats and nine draws, but Arsenal have only won five times since then including just once in the last 15 meetings – the 3-0 defeat two seasons ago that inspired Antonio Conte’s switch to 3-4-3 and Chelsea’s subsequent title-winning run.

[ad_pod ]

But the shift in fortunes is no mere coincidence; a year before Chelsea’s first Premier League win over Arsenal, Jose Mourinho arrived in English football. His pragmatic game-plan and deployment of an extra body in deep midfield completely counteracted the philosophy that had made Arsenal the Invincibles the campaign previous; the north Londoners are still waiting for their first Premier League title since, while Chelsea have won five and the 2012 Champions League.

And with two new managers at the helm on Saturday, tactics could once again be at the epicentre of a fixture that has shaped both clubs’ modern histories.

Head-to-Head: Jorginho versus Lucas Torreira

Jorginho and Lucas Torreira are by no means carbon copies of each other; the former is a deep-lying playmaker inspired by Andrea Pirlo whereas the latter is your classic warrior-like Uruguayan, prepared to mix street-footballer-flair with tenacity and aggression. That shows in their statistics; whereas the Italy international made the second-most passes per match of any player in Europe’s five leading top flights last season, Torreira far outshone him in terms of tackles, interceptions and even goals.

But both midfielders have been signed this summer for essentially the same purpose – to bring completely new skills sets to the base of their respective engine rooms. Torreira represents exactly what the Gunners have lacked in the middle of the park over the last few seasons, while Jorginho offers Chelsea the ability to retain possession for extended periods – something they often struggled with under Conte due to his emphasis on counter-attacking football.

Referee in Focus: Martin Atkinson

If there’s one thing both clubs need to know about Martin Atkinson, it’s that he displayed an incredible reluctance to award penalties last season. Perhaps the greatest example of that was in the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, when he refused to award Manchester City a penalty for Ashley Young’s dangerous lunge on Sergio Aguero, but it’s reflected in the stats as well – from the 21 referees to work in the top flight in 2017/18, Atkinson ranked 17th for penalties per game.

That should give Arsenal and Chelsea’s centre-backs far more license to be physical inside the box this Saturday, which will give both sets of defenders some peace of mind considering the quality Alvaro Morata, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and company offer, but it arguably benefits the Blues more. Recent history suggests Atkinson won’t be awarding penalties for grappling in the box, and Arsenal scored twice as many goals from corners as Chelsea last term – ten compared to five. The 47-year-old’s leniency in those situations should nullify that threat somewhat, should Chelsea take advantage of it.

Team News

Changes to Chelsea’s starting XI this weekend will prioritise quality over quantity. We’re expecting only one alteration from the team that beat Huddersfield last time out with Eden Hazard returning to the action after arriving late from the World Cup. Regarding Mateo Kovacic, Sarri’s already suggested this weekend has come too soon for the loan signing to start.

That should see Ross Barkley keep his place in the starting XI for at least another week after impressing in pre-season and showing some clever touches in the 3-0 win last Saturday, especially with Cesc Fabregas sidelined, while Sarri now faces a bit of a selection dilemma on the right wing. Willian – who Transfermarkt value at £45million – is probably the choice of Chelsea fans, but the new Blues boss seems pretty keen on Pedro who repaid the faith with a gorgeous goal against the Terriers.

Emery, on the other hand, has some crucial decisions to make after his starting XI grew criticism last weekend. Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan failed to provide enough protection out wide, whereas Aubameyang became an incredibly isolated figure up top and Granit Xhaka was completely anonymous in deep midfield. Considering Chelsea set up in a similar way to Manchester City, using the same 4-3-3 structure, we should see some changes for the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Perhaps the most significant of those is Torreira replacing Xhaka in the engine room, hopefully to add some real steel in front of a back four that was continually exposed by Pep Guardiola’s side, as well as Aubameyang taking Mkhitaryan’s place on the left – leaving Alexandre Lacazette to lead the line. With Ainsley Maitland-Niles now a confirmed absentee, Stephan Lichtsteiner will likely undertake the left-back role he impressed in after replacing the youngster against City. All in all, that’s three changes from the starting XI which lost on the Premier League’s opening weekend.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”280042″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Fixture in Focus Chelsea v Arsenal”]