Arsenal vs Chelsea Premier League 23 December 2013

The last game and the highlight of the 17 round of the English Premier League is the derby of London – the clash between Arsenal and Chelsea. The Gunners have been lately out of breath and they have already lost the leadership in the PR table but if they win, they will regain the throne. The Blues in case of a victory may have a chance to be a vice-leader and take local rival down a peg at the same time.

    

Arsenal’s performance in the last games definitely dropped. Arsene Wenger’s team did not win last three games, two of which in the Premier League. Especially the last defeat in the league, against Manchester City 3:6, was particularly severe and quite humiliating for such an ambitious and so far well playing team, such as Arsenal. Yet, you can say, that the last lost game in Manchester was, so to speak, a climax of Arsenal’s bad performance. In the club everybody hopes that the bad luck has run out. Before the 17^th round the Gunners had occupied the leading place in the league table but while waiting for their Monday match, they were jumped over by Liverpool and Manchester City. The stake is high for Arsenal in the upcoming game – if they lose, they will land on the 4^th place in the table; in case of a draw, they will be 2^nd with the same amount of points as leading Liverpool, but with a worse goal balance. An additional problem may be the absence of Jack Wilshere, who has been suspended for two games due to his impolite behaviour towards fans after the last match. Despite the recent weaknesses and problems, it seems that the advantage of home play makes Arsenal a favourite of this upcoming game.   

Chelsea play a little bit carelessly every now and then this season. In the last game, in the League Cup, against Sunderland they unexpectedly lost and dropped out of the Cup. Admittedly, they won in the last Premier League round – 2:1 against Crystal Palace – but their performance was not very convincing. Even though, Chelsea is still in play in the league. Before the upcoming game the Blues occupy the 4^th place – but in case of a victory they will land on the second place in the table having the same amount of points as the leading Liverpool. Chelsea must also remember that Everton are on their heels and only wait for them to slip up. If the Blues lose, they will fall to the 5^th place. The advantage for Chelsea might be their manager, Jose Mourinho, who not once has shown that in case of a critical situation can keep a cool head and, using substitutes for instance, turn the fate of a game to his favour.

Head-to-Head:

Last Meeting: 29/10/13 Arsenal 0:2 Chelsea
Wins Arsenal: 61- Wins Chelsea: 51 - Draws: 46

Premier League, 17. round - Arsenal vs Chelsea
Match date: Monday, 23 December 2013
Kick Off Time: 20:00 UK (BST) - 3:00PM EST
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, United Kingdom

Referee:‬ M. Dean‎

You can watch the match here: Link 1 , Link 2 [Live Scores]