Arsenal vs. Chelsea match thread: do the double!

Arsenal saddle up and go again in the Premier League today, playing host to Chelsea. The Gunners need to win out and have Manchester City drop points to have a shot at the Premier League title. The Blues, on the other hand, just need a win. They’ve not won in the Premier League for nearly two months. Since beating Leicester City on March 11th, Chelsea have lost six and drawn two matches in all competitions. They scored one goal in the month of April — a fortunate deflection steered a Conor Gallagher shot into the Brighton net.

The Gunners have a chance to do the league double over Chelsea for the second time in three seasons. Prior to Arsenal’s double in ‘20-’21, the Gunners hadn’t managed the feat since The Invincibles did it in ‘03-’04. Arsenal bested Chelsea 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in early November of last year.

That was several managers and hundreds of millions of pounds spent by the Blues ago. It’s hard to say what you’re going to get from Frank Lampard’s bunch. They have incredibly talented players who have played some stunning football at times, but they’ve also looked as if they’ve never played with each other before and hardly ever even kicked a football.

It would be very Arsenal (of the past) to drop points at home against a struggling Chelsea side. The Gunners are in the midst of a skid, and it seems as if they’ve got little left in the tank after a long season. The absence of William Saliba is heavily felt all over the formation, and several players look “less than” they were earlier in the year.

I’ve got a feeling that Mikel Arteta is going to whip his side into shape. He, and the team, are eager to avoid closing the campaign with a whimper like they did last season. And with a match against Newcastle at the weekend, they’ve got to be careful about getting pipped for second. It’s not likely to happen, but if the Gunners stumble and tumble through the close of the season, it could happen.

Chelsea will be without several big name players, all of whom have been shut down for the season: Kalidou Koulibaly, Reece James, Mason Mount, Armando Broja, and Marc Cucurella. Kai Havertz faces a late fitness test.

Arsenal’s injury list is unchanged. William Saliba is not progressing in his recovery / management of his back issue. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny are both out for the season.

Arsenal - Ramsdale, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Gabriel, White, Jorginho, Xhaka, Ødegaard, Trossard, Jesus, Saka

Chelsea - Kepa, Azpilicueta, Fofana, Thiago Silva, Chilwell, Kante, Enzo, Kovacic, Madueke, Aubameyang, Sterling

WHAT: Arsenal vs Chelsea
WHEN: Tuesday, May 2nd, 12:00 pm PT | 3:00pm ET | 8:00 pm BT
WHERE: The Emirates Stadium
HOW TO WATCH: Broadcast live on the USA Network. Streaming on NBCSports.com

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