Arsenal faces title test against Chelsea
Entering the seventh round of the English Premier League, one has a hard time saying that any team faces a title test. However, Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge carries exactly that level of weight for Arsenal.
Chelsea is the best team in the Premier League, and title holders Manchester City will have a difficult time keeping pace with the West London club. For Arsenal, challenging for a league title requires the Gunners to keep pace with the Chelsea Blues.
Six points back after six rounds, Arsenal can cut the gap to only three points with a victory. Conversely, the Gunners can fall back as far as nine points with a loss in the London derby. Considering Chelsea’s perfect home record and the lethal overall form of the Blues, the Gunners would probably view a split of the points as a positive result.
During the week in the Champions League, Arsenal’s widely heralded signings dismantled a lackluster Galatasaray defense. Danny Welbeck scored a hat trick and Alexis Sanchez finished with an assist and a goal in the 4-1 win at the Emirates. Both players paced past defenders and caused confusion for the Turkish defense. Unfortunately for Arsenal, Felipe Melo is not available for another public undressing on Sunday.
To the contrary, Chelsea had the best defense in England a season ago. Despite allowing more goals than would be expected early in the 2014-15 campaign, the Blues have tightened their straps and secured the hull. In their last five matches, they have allowed only three goals and recorded two clean sheets. Were it not for Frank Lampard’s stinging dagger, Chelsea would boast a perfect record in the league.
In contrast, Arsenal has only managed one clean sheet in its last seven matches across all competitions. In the domestic league, both Chelsea and Arsenal have allowed seven goals, but Chelsea’s goal differential of plus-12 is three times better than Arsenal’s plus-4.
Diego Costa and his cronies have completed 19 chances in the Premier League, meaning Chelsea is averaging an astounding 3.2 goals per match.
Former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas will undoubtedly draw attention for facing his former club, but the Spaniard should instead be drawing attention for leading the Premier League with six assists after six rounds. Fabregas has been fabulous and his towering partner, Nemanja Matic, has been equally impressive. Together, these two form the strongest midfield duo in the Premier League.
With Arsenal combatting injuries and lacking an imposing central midfielder, Chelsea’s powerful midfielder Matic and the skillful steady figure of Fabregas should easily control the center of the park. Arsenal’s back line is in good shape and boasts a respectable record, but the cover ahead of the back line is the Gunners’ primary weakness and has been for some time.
On Sunday, one should not be surprised if Fabregas pops up in the space ahead of the Arsenal back line and provides a gut punch that instantly drops the Gunners’ title hopes. It may not exactly feel like a Lampard moment, but emotions will be flowing for both the player and the visiting fans if the Barcelona native scores against his former club.
After only six rounds, talk of titles is admittedly premature. However, Chelsea appears to be the team to beat in the league, and for the 2014-15 season, the Premier League title surely goes through Stamford Bridge. If the Gunners want to legitimately advance past the discussion of "top four" and into the discussion of true title contenders, a result at Stamford Bridge on Sunday would go a long way to convincing critics and, more importantly, convincing themselves.
After all, this fixture finished 6-0 in favor of Chelsea a season ago, so the Gunners have a great deal to prove to themselves.
Shahan Ahmed has covered the 2014 World Cup, 2013 Confederations Cup, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Germany Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and Spanish La Liga for Yahoo! Sports. Follow Shahan on Twitter: @ShahanLA
