Arsenal News

Confirmed team and preview of Arsenal v Chelsea in China

Arsenal fans will be hoping for a repeat performance and result from the FA cup final back in May when the Gunners played a blinder to beat Chelsea and become the most successful side in the history of the competition. Today’s pre-season game against Antonio Conte’s side is not quite as important as that Wembley final, of course, but as it pits us against the reigning Premier League champions it is still one that we want to win.

Arsene Wenger has picked a fairly strong XI to start the game as well, with Per Mertesacker back at the centre of a back three after he missed the win over Bayern Munich the other day due to illness and he will have Monreal on the left of him with young Maitland-Niles on the right.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will reprise his role of wing back in which he impressed towards the end of last season and the boss has gone for a more adventurous central pairing of Ramsey and Xhaka with young Cohen Bramall on the left. Alex Iwobi has been rewarded for his impact and goal off the bench against Bayern with a start and we get to see the burgeoning relationship between playmaker Mesut Ozil and new striker Lacazette.

Ospina
Maitland-Niles, Mertesacker, Monreal
Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Xhaka, Bramall
Ozil, Iwobi, Lacazette

This is the first pre-season game for Chelsea so let’s hope Arsenal make it a miserable start for them.

Bob.

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95 Comments

    1. OT – Mendy just confirmed to Man City so zero chance no of Lemar coming with Bakayoko also to Chelsea! You would think Arsenal would have wanted to pay £5-10mn to ensure they get Lemar and also stop the other rivals getting good players!!

      1. chelsea man city or even man u look like contenders this coming season with all their signings! cmon wenger we need quality world class signings in midfield and defense!

    2. WOW ANYONE STILL WANTS SANCHEZ TO LEAVE? THIS IS SCARY. I WON’T EVEN SELL SANCHEL FOR £80 MILLION NOW. ITS SCARY HOW RUBBISH WE ARE WITHOUT HIM.

      TAKE THE WAGES GIBBS, DEBUCHY, PEREZ, JEKINSON, SCZENEY, CHAMBERS AND JUST GIVE IT TO SANCHEZ NOW. I SWEAR THIS TEAM IS NOT MAKING THE TOP 4 WITHOUT SANCHEZ. NOT TO TALK OF CHALLENGING

      1. With Sanchez, we didn’t make top 4. without him, we made it over the past 20 years. Sanchez is a great player. But we still can improve even without him. Football is a team game.
        but i have to say the current squad don’t have chemistry between them. it’s a task for manager.

    1. It’s pre season game. Let the major focus be on team play, player fitness, formation, team chemistry etc rather than goals.

      Also let the youngsters show their worth. None the less, hope the team plays with desire, cause it’s Chelsea after all.

      1. well all the things you mentioned be team player fitness passing or chemistry are in tatters. they need some major fixing in those departments. the only positives are the youngsters though! nelson malen and wilock look good with the ball!

  3. Win the game. Would be good for the morale of the young guns especially as Conte has fielded a n arguably stronger line up..
    COYG

  4. I think we will see some goals. Both defenses will be weaker than usual and both teams have players who want to prove that they should be starting

    Hopefully the result will be in our favour

    1. lol

      arsenal presently playing rubbish and are two goals down, which could easily have been 5…only one shot on target for arsenal

      only source of consolation is chelsea have their regular strating eleven, we dont

      arsenal need midefileders…xhaka isnt cutting it, and i doubt he would come this season

    1. Pls don’t come here with excuses,we all saw you guys rejoice after we won against Bayern so I don’t want to hear “its just preseason ” excuse,Arsenal equally fixed in a strong squad,we had Sanchez,Koscielny,Bellerin & Mustafi out thus 4 of our starters & Chelsea had no Hazard & Matic thus two of their starters out,to me that’s virtually equal team strength… We all can sit & delude ourselves but deep down we all know that one way or the other Arsenal with Arsene in charge will forever be a joke in the eyes of the elite European football

        1. Well too bad you guys feel that way cause he got himself a nice new two year contract!

  7. Its fine as long i get to watch lacazette and my new favourite player in iwobi..
    Those of you asking about lemar. Deal is basically done. Not to worry. Announcement will happen once team returns to london and monaco are done with pre season. Monaco are also looking for some reinforcements. Its up to both clubs when they would like to announce depending on monaco..

    2. sorry if my ass dont believe this. i’m not criticizing you or playing down your words, you have your moments but my ass just find it hard to believe, not until it gets announced. Just one prediction bout Lacazette to Arsenal that came true won’t suddenly make me believe anything concerning a done deal until i see it. I’ve been playing the believing done deals before announcement for years only to get heart broken. one Transfer won’t change that?

      1. Hahaha… Have to agree with Eddy here. No disrespect resource guy, but if you’re right then kuddos, if you’re trolling then please dont

        1. But what if he’s trolling and he’s right. I say what if – but that’s just me playing along. I think resource is someone we know very well on this site.

          As for the game, it’s a mess to watch. I see team shape is not something we’ve been working on. Open as open can be, yet Chesea are tight.

  9. Chelsea clearly want revenge and we want to see Maitland abd Bramhall. Don’t rate maitland at all!

    Annoying what I’ve just read above re Mandy and bakayoko. No chance lemar now, so who?

    1. That’s not the way I see it. I see it as Monaco saying we’re not selling anymore players, then they go and sell another one. If it’s true Lemar wants to come and he’s willing to kick up a fuss, well then we need to offer a very good price with add-ons making it look an incredible one. That could do it. I won’t lie though, the height thing is starting to play on my mind esp if we get Lemar and do not get a big CM player (Id also like big aerial power CB). The right wing worries me too. And I’m now starting to worry with how we’ve clearly not been working on defending or team shape. Chelsea in pre-season look to work on everything that made them champions.

  11. Yes but Bramhall was working in a factory last year and walcott been with us how long?
    Bramhall may come good with coaching and good players around him, he had pace and a good engine. Good start.

  12. chelseas all over us on their FIRST preseason game..lets hope they get better over the next 3 games. they better

    1. It’s their second pre season game. Their first was against Fulham , which was played in a closed stadium I think. But Chelsea have dominated the first half. Deserve their goals. Let’s see how we respond in the second half.

      1. well the commentators on arsenal.com lied to me then lmao..i just want arsenal to find form and not lose the first game of the season! then i will be a happy man!

  13. Wow … Serious weaknesses obvious already .. Bramall and maitland niles need to be loaned not good enough for bench … But Ramsey xhaka combo the big problem …can’t control middle if park … Ox as usual good moments but not enough … Lacazette???

      1. Sanchez is like 50% of this team.Without him we are shit. we need to give him that money. his team mates are poor and they are earning a fortune. TO think he is on £130K and Walcott on 140K, wow wow wow. God where are you?

    1. I don’t think anyone was ever dreaming of winning a quadruple to begin with mate! Arsenal are playing poor today no doubt. Conte put out a stronger quad. Question is, had we of been spanking Chelsea would you be saying calm down its only a friendly?

      1. Nonsense, you are just making as much excuses a Wenger himself.

        It does not matter if it’s preseason or fielding youngsters, we never play our games with a sense of urgency and if you think this 1st team is strong enough to win any honours come this season, then you must be in delusion or have been duped.

        Arsenal fans are so gullible, especially the ones on this forum. The over-hype and excitement in signing Lacazette and everyone is already thinking we are ready to challenge. The most the Lacazette signing has done is plugged the void of a striker, one of which should have been filled years ago. Now we have new holes to fill, LW (if Sanchez leaves); CM; CD and possibly a few others, the point being we are always playing catch up and wishing for the best. When are we ever really ready to put up a challenge??

        Fans should be concerned, especially if you look at the activities of Man City; Man U and Chelsea in the transfer market, they are strengthening while we are complacent. Even more worrying is the vultures circling above Arsenal, waiting for it to fail and collapse, and soliciting our best players. When are we actually going to be ready, when are we going to have an ambitious owner; a board; and a manager, when are we going to move on from this socialist wage structure and youth policy. When?

  15. We cannot do anything without a quality playmaker in middle of park .. Ramsey ain’t it … that’s a fact …

    1. Totally agreed, Bernardo Silva was the perfect Santi replacement. It’s appalling the way we’re playing. Forget about Chelsea playing strong team.they’ll be even stronger with bakayoko,Rudiger and Morata. City just got Mendy,added to Silva,walker,ederson and co and Mr penny pinching just spending 50 on lacazette and now more than unlikely to get Lamar so still bunch of deluded died hear Wenger supporters believe we’ll win EPL under him. I predicted another two seasons of pain,wait and watch.

    2. “The British Core” has been our impairment all these years. Ramsey; Wilshere; Walcott; Gibbs are not good enough and will never be. Ox is the only exception because of his age; pace and physicality. The midfield is particularly a position where a player need to dictate the play and British players are not known to be good at that.

      Ramsey is not a bad player but certainly not the type of play with the standard Arsenal should strive to achieve. Also Ramsey’s play does not fit with Arsenal’s style which is short and quick passing. He is more suited for a team that thrives more in open play like that of his national team. We should not be a haven in order to accommodate for such players if we are to succeed. Where is the vision?

  16. Yes we look rubbish at the moment but we’ve got many missing players maitland niles and per at the back. No sanchez and lemar isolated completed.

    1. yea lemar and sanchez will be with us next season. we can only hope we dont lose our first game of the season!

  17. People calm down
    It’s a summer friendly
    Bayern lost 4-0

    And we just had an Article on being patient with Lacazette

    We also can’t expect a lot from Niles and Bramel

    Also there is another half coming up lol 🙂

    1. we fans are sure patient..13 years and counting. whats one more lol..i dont expect anything from arsenal this season.

    2. I just don’t get what’s wrong with people.Would any neutral be expecting Arsenal to win this match?The shameful attitude from some of us here is annoying.They think beating Chelsea by a huge number in preseason means anything.Look at how Man Utd beat City by also pllaying their strongest squad.Trust me City will have their payback this season in EPL.All these are not determiners of what the season holds.I’d like to know Leicester’s preseason results before they won the cup and if they would have been able to beat Arsenal or Chelsea at that time in preseason.

  18. Hopefully, whatever the result today, Wenger will sign a few more top quality players

      1. I said “hopefully” lol, not “he will”

        I still cling on to the fact that he spent £52 million on Lacazette, £42 million on Ozil, over £30 million each on Xhaka, Alexis and Mustafi

        I know he let us down for 13 years but I love this club so much that at least I can hope for the best and dream lol

  19. Terrible energy from us so far we cant hold the dam ball.

    We lose it we stroll around Chelsea lose it well you can see yourselfs how bad the 1st half was.
    Was hoping for so much better even with the team that started.
    Has to be said its midfield where the battle is being lost.
    Will Arsene has the brain to change it up at H.T. i hope so cant watch these gits outplaying us no matter what type game it is so let kiss ass Arsenal and show these whats what.

  20. So we’ve played two more pre season games than Chelsea as well does that mean it’s a good thing or bad thing being in Asia?
    Don’t forget the bug in the camp, you don’t know who else could be ropey.

    1. we have 2 more weeks left. lets hope they find some decent form before the pl starts. lets not lose our first game like we did for the past few seasons! COGY!

  22. Don’t care if it’s a friendly or not, it’s maddening losing to one of the top leagues in the league.

  23. Based on lineup Chelsea should be trashing us.This isn’t a big deal at all.We will beat them at Wembley when both teams are in full shape.Ainsley Maitland Niles is not a CB or RWB and also Bramall we all know is not defensively solid.Even our 3 CB’s in this team aren’t very solid.If you think Chelsea will beat us 2-0 at Wembley then fine by me.It’s shameful how some of us behave though.Top teams are losing preseason yet those same teams are destroying the teams which beat them when it comes to the big stage.

  24. Anybody understand why mert is coming half field to tackle.He did it3-4 time and also led to first goal.

  25. What position is Wenger grooming Maitland-Niles for? I don’t see him doing well in all the positions he is playing. Can’t he groom real defenders for defensive positions?

    1. Maitland Niles is a CM who can also play on the wings.Wenger using him in that position is just making him poor.The guy’s confidence will really go down.I mean why not just use him in CM?After all it’s only preseason.I just don’t get Wenger at times.I would have also started Coquelin in this match who looks to be really impressive.This result determines nothing in our season as many preseason matches have taught us.

  26. Cooking up our admin again then! Remeber no designated captain and different sleeve lengths!

  30. LOL these commentators, how can we have a good start to the 2nd half if we concede in 3 minutes

  33. We simply don’t have enough quality players in this squad …. If wenger doesn’t buy a minimum of two world class players in next 2 weeks .. 4th place will be out of reach

  34. Same old same old. I know it’s a friendly, Chelsea looks like a team ready for the league. We look like need a few games to find our mojo.

  35. I know what’s going on here. Our boys are ready and wanting to go home now they’re on their way back tired and hot and longing for some English food!
    Chelsea have just arrived all enthused.

  36. What time is kick off then? ?? looks like some team didn’t turn up!

  37. Just to confirm that Xhaka – Ramsey is currently our “strongest” midfield, backups being ELNENY and COQUELIN.

    I can already see us going into the season with these “professionals”.

  41. Who gets the feeling that Lacazette is not up to scratch. The few games he has played are not impressive. Lamp Post looks really better or even Welberg…..spelling lol

  45. I won’t read much into the results. My worry is when are we going to gel. Why can’t we play a real team and test player formations. I am enjoying young guns though!

  46. There ffing youth team are looking better than us … With exception of Nelson who looks decent to me .. Let’s c if wenger actually wants to win anything in next two years coz he doesn’t have a squad to do it yet

  47. Life after sanchez I’m afraid!!
    Who’s going to bring that snap and edge onto the pitch once Sanchez has gone?
    Wilshire had it, alexis, even flamini had it!
    Coquelin has shown glimpses of it as well as our young guns.
    I want to start seeing the senior players fight like the fa cup game.
    Ot Chelsea s young guns aren’t bad!

  51. There’s nothing to be excited about in this squad.. Unless Wenger brings in at least 2 more world class players. Still yet to find a replacement for Santi in midfield.

  52. This game proves what a pathetic loser mentality that’s has sunk into the Arsenal sqaud. This may be a pretty season friendly but it’s against our arch rivals Chelsea who have tormented Arsenal over the years .none of the players in the Arsenal team except for Oxlaide Chamberlain was up to the fight . Arenal are physically and mentally weak , thy are too easily dominated which was illustrated by Ozils performance . As I said in previous post’s Willian and Fabregas who are bit part players at Chelsea would be a massive upgrade on our sorry bunch

  53. Its only a friendly

    We can get hammered 10 nil or 20 nil …..its still a meaningless friendly

    Its the league that matters…the 6 points (2 games) thats essential

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