On Wednesday night, Arsenal was defeated by Manchester City in what has the potential to be the most important match of the 2022–23 English Premier League season. The Gunners still have a chance to win the Premier League title for the first time in more than 20 years, even though there are only five matches left until their season is complete. But for that to happen, they must quickly return to their winning ways. It follows from this that they must defeat Chelsea on Tuesday. In order for Mikel Arteta’s team to have any chance of dethroning Manchester City as champions, they must defeat their London rivals.
Under Frank Lampard, Chelsea has lost each and every game, and they now face a genuine chance of finishing behind Crystal Palace, Wolves, and maybe West Ham. The Blues has only scored 30 goals so far this year and has been eliminated from all cup tournaments. Chelsea, who are 20 points below the top four, would relish a victory that would severely hamper Arsenal’s title hopes.
When & Where?
Where: Emirates Stadium in London, England.
Date: Tuesday, May 2, 2023.
Time: 3:00 PM ET
Match Officials
Referee: Robert Jones.
Assistants: Timothy Wood, Wade Smith.
Fourth official: Graham Scott.
VAR: Andre Marriner.
Assistant VAR: Stuart Burt.
Team news
The Gunners are hoping that William Saliba can play again after suffering a back injury. Despite Arteta’s hints that he wouldn’t be available, the Frenchman’s absence and Arsenal’s decline in form have occurred at the same time. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny will undoubtedly be out and are unlikely to play the rest of the season. Mason Mount and Reece James will not be in Chelsea. There is optimism that Marc Cucurella and Kai Havertz, together with Kalidou Koulibaly, will make up for their midweek absences against Brentford.
Match Analysis
The issues Chelsea is facing are well known, and the summer will be spent working hard to attempt to find solutions. They would want to highlight Arsenal’s current troubles and point out that they were unable to defeat Man City, despite the fact that this was by no means a failure on their part. Chelsea shouldn’t require much encouragement, and Lampard will do all in his power to make them difficult to defeat right away. Arsenal players could initially be depressed and feel sorry for themselves at the same time.
Due to the fact that the Gunners won their previous encounter on November 1-0, scoring after the break via center-back Gabriel, we anticipate a sluggish start to this one. Despite their recent struggles, Arsenal have continued to thrive in front of goal. Due to William Saliba’s injury, most of their issues are in the back, but up front, Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli, and Bukayo Saka’s form cannot be questioned. Gabriel Martinelli, who has 15 goals for Arsenal this season, has four goals in his previous eight games despite going scoreless versus Manchester City. Reece James and Marc Cucurella are expected to miss games for Chelsea due to injury; thus, Martinelli’s speed could provide a lot of possibilities. Although the Brazilian forward has recently logged a lot of playing time, coach Mikel Arteta must heavily rely on those players, and Martinelli is unquestionably one of them. Even though their chances of winning the title are fading, if they can quickly get back to winning, they can at least put some pressure back on Manchester City.
Key players
Arsenal – Bukayo Saka
In his 16 Premier League home appearances this season, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka has directly contributed to 16 goals (9 goals, 7 assists). In three different competitive games at the Emirates this season, he has both scored and assisted on a goal. Alexis Sánchez was the last Gunners player to accomplish so more than once in a single season (4 in 2014–15).
Probable Lineups
Predicted Arsenal lineup vs Chelsea: Ramsdale, White, Holding, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Partey, Xhaka, Saka, Odegaard, Martinelli, Nelson.
Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Arsenal: Kepa; Chalobah, W Fofana, Thiago Silva, Azpilicueta; Kante, Enzo, Gallagher; Sterling, Joao Felix, Mudryk.