Chelsea vs Arsenal: 3 key battles to decide London derby

3. Ben White vs Raheem Sterling

After passing the brief Jérémy Doku test, Ben White is ready for just about anything.

The 26-year-old delivers 7/10 performances every week, is superb at snuffing out danger and, as Raya would be glad to know, oozes composure when tasked with progressing the ball from deep.

But while his passing ability and excellent anticipation have always served him well, White can sometimes get his defensive positioning wrong and that could be fatal against a dynamic Chelsea attack.

That operation is spearheaded by an in-form Raheem Sterling, who is finally living up to expectations in west London. His sharpness to exploit gaps and shift feet quickly in the box were on full display at Turf Moor a fortnight ago (where he registered three goal contributions) and proved just reward for his impressive personal start to the season.

In August, Sterling credited Pochettino for his ongoing revival and shared how encouragement to be more “dynamic and aggressive” with the ball helped to remind him of when he is at his most effective – words that he continued to live by over the following weeks.

The Burnley outing no doubt caused White a few sleepless nights, so we can only hope his new haircut will be just one of many Arsenal highlights this weekend.