Every game for Arsenal at the moment is a crucial fixture as Mikel Arteta tries to pull his players out of the massive slump in form, which has seen the Gunners drop to 15th in the table having not won a League game since November 1st.
Chelsea have lost 3 games so far this season against Arsenal’s 8, and the Blues have scored 29 goals against Arsenal’s 12, so you can see the massive task that Arteta’s men have to face this afternoon.
But Frank Lampard is not expecting an easy game, and believes that Arteta will have his team fit and ready for the big derby despite being in transition. “If you come into a club that’s going through a period of certain transition, I think it’s very understandable there will be lots of situations and work that you need to do in order to get the club where you want it to be. It’s not all rosy as that’s not football.” Lampard told Sky Sports.
“That’s not to do with the manager. I think Mikel is a highly talented coach and manager, and his team are really just going through a recent patch of difficult form. That’s very commonplace in the Premier League as it’s a very tough league. I’ve got huge respect for Mikel and for Arsenal. They have a quality set of players and that’s the team I’m preparing for on Boxing Day.”
One bright spark for Arteta could be the return to fitness of a certain young Brazilian, but he will need the support of the players around him, and hopefully a striker that can put the ball in the net.
It won’t be easy, but as they say “Anything can happen in a derby!”