Arsenal vs Chelsea preview

Tonight Arsenal will face one of their biggest games of the season so far as they entertain Chelsea at home. We've been going through a tough period of late and we haven't won since Hull on the 4th December so it'll be a tough test, but not as tough as Man City were last weekend. This marks the end of our really tough run of fixtures but it also marks the beginning of the cramped festive schedule of football. After this weekend's matches we are now 3rd in the table with a game in hand over Liverpool and City. If we win tonight then we'll return to the top and we'll be sitting pretty in first place on Christmas day. However if the Gunners do indeed suffer defeat then we'll slip down to fourth.

The battle of Wenger and Mourinho will resume and it'll be an interesting one. Mourinho won the battle when previously in charge but this Chelsea side, although they're still doing very well, look a shadow of their former selves. They've been poor defensively whilst their strikers have struggled to score goals. Their midfield, like ours, is a very good one and it'll be key that our midfielders win their own individual battles if we are to win. Arsene Wenger has never beaten Mourinho in 9 league and cup games, something that the Frenchman will be looking to address against one of his bitter rivals. We played them in the League Cup a few months back where they came out on top with a dominant display. Both sides will be putting out stronger line-ups this time around though. No striker has scored away in the Premier League for Chelsea this season, something that we'll be hoping doesn't change. Meanwhile, Juan Mata will be needed to have an eye kept on, the Spaniard has scored in each of his last 4 starts against Arsenal.

Arsenal will be looking to amend the mistakes they made against Manchester City and come out and produce a brilliant performance. The defensive issues will need to be addressed. Laurent Koscielny is out injured and it's a massive game for Thomas Vermaelen. He's been OK this season but when Koscielny came off against City you could tell how much of a loss he was. You could argue that the sides with the best midfielders in the league will be encountering each other. Ramsey and Hazard being the respective teams top scorers outlines that. Mesut Ozil has been surprisingly quiet in the big games this season and if we are to win then he needs to be on top of his game. He'll be up against his former manager in Mourinho so hopefully he'll take no mercy against his old boss.Wenger has said that there is a possibility of Ozil receiving a rest shortly but he'll certainly be in the squad for the Chelsea game.

The defensive midfielders in this game will be key to who comes out on top. I thought that Flamini should start against City in order to break down their creative players but we perhaps missed Arteta a little bit in the sense of distributing the ball quickly and getting the ball out of defensive areas quicker. I personally think that we should stick with Flamini and try and get him to hassle the likes of Hazard, Oscar and Mata. John Obi Mikel, not rated by quite a few people, could be key to breaking up our attacking play and will look to isolate Mesut Ozil.

In terms of the line-up there could be a few changes. Kieran Gibbs should come back in for Nacho Monreal after his poor display against City whilst Santi Cazorla may regain his place with Jack Wilshere out suspended for the next two games. Theo Walcott, fresh from scoring two in his last game, will surely start on the right. Especially considering his recent displays against the Blues. Lukas Podolski is also fit after injury and he should be on the bench. I'd like to see Tomas Rosicky who is usually a big game player maybe start out on the left. However, I think that Santi may get the nod.

My line-up: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Gibbs, Flamini, Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Cazorla, Giroud. Subs: Fabianski, Jenkinson, Monreal, Arteta, Rosicky, Podolski, Bendtner.

As said, this is a huge game. It's about time we start stamping down our authority in these big games. I'm not sure why but the players seem to disappear quite often in these big games and it's time we stepped up. If we are to win the League, we need to win some of the games against teams around us as well as against the smaller sides. It's been 9 days since our last game so the players should be fresh. It will have hopefully given the likes of Giroud and Ozil a chance to recharge their batteries. I will accept nothing but a win from this game considering our recent matches. A win would do absolute wonders for the teams confidence, especially with a couple of key players out. Saying that, I wouldn't be disappointed with a draw.