Arsenal vs Chelsea predicted XI: Keep the trajectory

Arsenal saw significant improvements against Bournemouth and Chelsea is up next. Here is how Mikel Arteta should line up in his second match in charge.

Arsenal didn’t get the perfect result in Mikel Arteta‘s first match in charge against Bournemouth, but that’s okay. The sensible fans out there saw the improvements. They saw glimpses of a free-flowing attack, they saw the ability to play out from the back, they saw the midfield presence—there was just a lot to see.

After a quick turnaround, the Gunners will now return home to host Chelsea, who have been their own conduit of unpredictability this year. Only Liverpool have less draws than Chelsea. No other team in the top 9 of the table have as many losses either. Yet their sitting in the top four with the fourth most wins in the league.

Needless to say, it’s impossible to predict this match result. With Arsenal under new management, looking to strive out on their own run of good form and Chelsea all over the place, anything could happen.

The Gunners do have significant injuries to talk about, though. Rob Holding, Sead Kolasinac and Kieran Tierney are all still out, which leaves the leftback situation in a rough spot—a spot Willian will want to exploit.

Elsewhere, we have a bunch of question marks. Dani Ceballos is back in training but still doubtful. Hector Bellerin and Sokratis are also doubtful, as is Gabriel Martinelli. But Martinelli is young, he heals faster than most. Or at least that’s what I want to believe.

Between the injuries and the match just two days ago, Mikel Arteta is going to have to be clever to get his best form out there, and thankfully, that’s a lot easier than it seems thanks to some decisions he made regarding the starting XI against Bournemouth. More on that later. For now, let’s talk formation.

Given the hectic list of fixtures, Arteta isn’t going to change too much up this early, so expect another 4-2-3-1. We’ll start in goal with the personnel.

Keeper

Bernd Leno keeps his job. He’s been so good that it’s ridiculous. He doesn’t get enough praise for what he does.

On to the “fullbacks.”