Every Arsenal fan on the planet (I am not sure if there are any in space but them too) will be hoping that our Chilean star striker Alexis Sanchez comes through the next two days of training and proves to Arsene Wenger that there is no risk in starting him at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Even if Alexis does start the game, though, I think that the Gunners should have our England international Theo Walcott in the side as well. Not necessarily in the centre forward role because Olivier Giroud is doing pretty well but there are three good reasons for Walcott to start.
The first is the idea that the 10 year anniversary of him becoming an Arsenal player and the good feeling that all the things people have been saying about him should produce a good response and performance from the pacy forward.
Along with that is the fact that we have Mesut Ozil back and the two have been forming a great understanding. Theo has the pace and movement to make the most of Ozil´s passing ability and vision and I do not think it was a coincidence that Walcott’s worst game for a while came at Stoke when Ozil was missing.
Finally there is the identity of the opponents. The new Chelsea boss Guus Hiddink has always been a proponent of the Dutch passing game and so I am not expecting a Mourinho style bus parking. A more open game certainly suits Walcott better and he does like playing Chelsea, with his record of five goals against them only bettered by the six he has put past Newcastle.
It would be hard on Joel Campbell if he missed out but I really think this game is set up for Walcott to shine. What do you guys think?