Mikel Arteta has spoken ahead of this weekend’s clash with Chelsea, and has praised his upcoming opponents, but insists he expects the fans to give Arsenal an edge and help us in our bid to beat them.
The Gunners were downed 2-0 in their opening match of the season, with some late withdrawals thanks to positive Coronavirus tests, but we are now looking forward to our first home match of the term, with Thomas Tuchel’s side set to arrive on Sunday.
Manager Mikel Arteta is under no illusions that a win will come easy, as he describes our opponents as a ‘top team’, but believes the fans will get behind us back at the Emirates, and insists that he has a plan to stop the Blues and give his side every chance of victory.
“Well from Chelsea we expect what they have done over the past few years, they are a top team, full of world-class players with a great manager,” Arteta admitted in his pre-match conference (via Arsenal.com). “They are the champions of Europe. We expect a really competitive match, that’s what I expect from our team. Our fans are going to be supporting our team, right behind them from the beginning because they have been missed so much, and we are going to go there to win the football match.
“I don’t know if he{Lukaku}’s going to play, but I have a plan to try to stop what Chelsea do and a plan of what we have to do to win the game.”
I can’t say that I’m personally very confident of our chances this weekend despite home advantage, and with doubts over both Lacazette and Aubameyang mean we could potentially be starting with the majority of last weekend’s selection is hardly reassuring either.
Arteta has to prepare his side for the challenge however, and he does have a positive record against Chelsea somehow, so who knows…
Do any of you have a good feeling going into the weekend’s London derby?
Patrick