Friday, 15 September 2017
To say Chelsea's supporters are relishing the prospect of Sunday's derby with Arsenal at Stamford Bridge is an understatement. Disregarding the preseason friendly in China which the Blues won 3-0, the past two meetings between the sides in London, both at Wembley, have ended in disappointment and frustration as the Gunners prevailed on both occasions winning the FA Cup and Community Shield in the process.
The Cup final loss in May was particularly irksome as Chelsea, with a gilt-edged opportunity to win the Double, failed to compete in the manner that had delivered the league title. The Community Shield maybe just a glorified friendly, but try telling that to supporters who paid a significant amount of money to attend the game and were rewarded with a Blues performance that had "couldn't-care-less" written all over it.
Simply speaking, when it comes to playing Arsenal on Sunday, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte owes Blues fans a result over their rivals. The Italian is revered by the denizens of the Bridge, and the hero worship has never wavered in spite of the Wembley disappointments. This time around, commitment, discipline and a team ethic have to be at the top of Conte's agenda, though the good news is the match comes at a time when the stars seem to be aligning once more for the Blues boss.
After the shocking home defeat to Burnley on the opening day of the season, the Italian has presided over four straight victories comprising three impressive wins in the Premier League and a 6-0 thrashing of Qarabag in the Champions League. Chelsea sits third in the top-flight table a point behind Manchester United and Manchester City and a win against Arsenal will maintain the Blues' momentum as they bid to retain their title.
For the first time this season, Conte has some serious decisions to make regarding team selection.
At the back, skipper Gary Cahill is available again having served the three-match suspension that followed his red-card dismissal against Burnley. Cahill's sending off paved the way for new signing Antonio Rudiger to establish himself alongside David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta and the Germany international will be hoping to keep his place in central defence.
Cahill started midweek against Qarabag and Rudiger featured off the bench. It's an interesting poser for Conte, and his decision could provide pointers to his plans for the balance of the Premier League campaign. Luiz who was rested against Qarabag can expect to be restored to the starting XI with the impressive Andreas Christensen making way.
Conte does have the forthcoming midweek League Cup encounter with Nottingham Forest to plan for and it's likely that Christensen could find himself featuring in that game.
In central midfield, N'Golo Kante is a shoo-in, however, Conte needs to determine who is the best partner for the France international. Tiemoue Bakayoko scored from the bench against Qarabag and Cesc Fabregas will be straining at the leash to feature against his old club. Arsenal supporters regularly chide their former hero and Fabregas will need no encouragement to turn in a "magic hat" performance against the Gunners.
At right wing-back, Davide Zappacosta's outstanding debut against Qarabag (which yielded a spectacular goal) gives the Italy international a serious claim to take Victor Moses' regular position. Again, as with the Cahill/Rudiger scenario, should Conte opt to select Zappacosta ahead of Moses it will provide pointers to the future.
Playmaker extraordinaire Eden Hazard has been gently eased back into first-team action by Conte. Cameo roles off the bench against Leicester City last weekend and Qarabag midweek suggest Hazard is ready to start. The Belgium international's return to fitness could spell trouble for Willian, who despite starting the campaign brightly will be concerned that bench duties may be beckoning.
Fan favourite Willian spent long parts of last season on the periphery of Conte's thinking as the Chelsea manager opted to play Hazard and there is a growing sense that history may be about to repeat itself certainly where Premier League fixtures are concerned.
Supporter sympathy may lay with Willian should he miss out, but the memory of Hazard's scintillating goal in last season's corresponding fixture with Arsenal, and the knowledge of what the 26-year old is capable of will override feelings of pity for the popular Brazilian.
A pulsating encounter looks in prospect. Whichever way Conte's team selection thoughts lead him, the Italian knows that come kick-off, Stamford Bridge will reverberate to the sound of Chelsea supporters chanting his name. Such belief is an advantage that his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger can only now dream about.
