When Arsenal and Chelsea collide in the Premier League there’s generally fireworks of one description or another, and this Saturday’s edition is likely to be no different.
The Gunners are flying high and are currently joint top alongside north London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, and they’ll fancy their chances at Stamford Bridge against a Chelsea side that are beginning to get their act together under Mauricio Pochettino but are still light years away from where they need to be.
If results go against the Blues, they could be as low as 13th by the end of the weekend, which would be a sobering thought for the Argentinian and for owner, Todd Boehly.
However, Arsenal shouldn’t be complacent. Being roared on by a partisan home crowd could see Chelsea produce their season’s best performance and dent the Gunners aspirations in the process.
One Arsenal ace is already fired up for the encounter, with three days still to go before the match is played.
“I told him… ‘if you do or attempt to do that on Saturday, I’ll rip your balls off,’” Oleksandr Zinchenko was quoted by Metro as saying after Mykhailo Mudryk’s brilliant effort for Ukraine on Tuesday night.
? Mykhailo Mudryk scored his first international goal#CFC pic.twitter.com/tHSzzhxULg
— Chelsea Express (@Chels_Express1) October 17, 2023
“But the most important thing for us was to take three points. I am very happy for him and for the national team, Mykhailo’s goal was important because he calmed down the game a little
“[…] But now we all have to switch to clubs and on Saturday I already have a very important game in London waiting for me, so Mykhailo, I’m telling you once again…”
Clearly it was all tongue in cheek, but when that whistle blows, there’ll be no quarter asked or give by either side.
It’s sure to be a fascinating watch for the neutrals as well as fans of either club.