By Danong
Tonight, Arsenal are back in action as they make the short trip across West London to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals.
Fresh from dismantling Portsmouth on their own turf with a commanding 4-1 victory in the FA Cup third round, the Gunners will be eager to carry that ruthless goalscoring touch into this clash.
Chelsea, meanwhile, arrive with the energy of a new-manager bounce. Liam Rosenior kicked off his tenure in emphatic fashion on Saturday, overseeing a thumping 5-1 win over Charlton.
As fired up as both sides are heading into this fixture, the outcome will ultimately be decided on the pitch. And with Arsenal’s boss Mikel Arteta determined to end the club’s trophy drought, he has little excuse but to field a strong side tonight.
It looks like Piero Hincapié and Ricardo Calafiori will be out. Saliba and Trossard are also doubtful. Having rested most of his other key stars in the FA Cup triumph, he should be able to field a competitive line-up:
Raya
Timber, Nørgaard, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly
Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard
Saka, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Nørgaard showed the when he played as a central defender he put in a quite adequate performance.
On the other hand MLS looked rusty and devoid of confidence in his last two appearances. He will have to raise his game if Arsenal are to get a result tonight to take back to the Emirates.
Chelsea, for their part, will be boosted by the return of Marc Cucurella from suspension, though they may still be without Reece James and Cole Palmer.
With Arsenal unbeaten in their last nine meetings against Chelsea, this tie could be monumental. Victory would mark a tenth consecutive game without defeat against their London rivals, further cementing the Gunners’ dominance as the undisputed Kings of London.
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1 comment:
Assuming that Saliba is out yi would play White at right back and Timber at left back no place for Lewis Skelly who I think would be exposed against Chelsea's flank players my other option would be to play Rice at right back and play White alongside Gabriel with Merino coming into midfield Not sure who I would pick at centre forward I hope Gyokeres will ce good but would be tempted to start with Jesus and have Gyokeres and Havertz on the bench Both Eze and Gyokeres need to step up if they play any part tonight Come on Arsenal
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