Arsenal hero Paul Merson has now outlined the ‘one advantage’ Chelsea have ahead of the Blues taking the Gunners on at Stamford Bridge in the London derby this Saturday.
It has been far from the start to the season that Chelsea would have hoped for after another seismic spend. The Blues fluttered a further £434.5m this summer after finishing last term in 12th place. Yet, despite also hiring Mauricio Pochettino, they are only in 11th place this term.
Meanwhile, in north London, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur currently share the top spot in the Premier League table through eight games. Mikel Arteta strengthened his squad after an inadequate finish to last term saw the Gunners fall short of Manchester City in the title race.
Merson feels Chelsea have ‘one advantage’ against Arsenal
But while Arsenal are again targeting the title, Merson thinks Chelsea have an edge ahead of this weekend’s London derby. The Gunners hero feels Pochettino can exploit Arteta picking a consistent XI. Pochettino, on the other hand, does not relish an obvious side in west London.
Arteta also has less time to prepare his team for their trip to Stamford Bridge coming out of the international break. So, Merson feels the winner of Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea on Saturday will come down to who adapts the quickest as Pochettino holds a possible ace up his sleeve.
“Many of the players will get back on Tuesday, have a recovery session and then just have Thursday and Friday to prepare for such a huge game,” Merson told Sky Sports. “It will come down to who can adapt better and get up to speed quickly after they return to their clubs.
“One advantage Chelsea will have is that we virtually know what the Arsenal team is going to be. On the other hand, we have no idea what the Chelsea team will be.”
Pochettino, like Arteta, does have several favourite players
Arteta has started Ben White, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba in Arsenal’s eight Premier League games this season. Pochettino has actually started more Chelsea stars in all eight of their games. But the Blues also have an array of possible injury concerns now.
Axel Disasi, Conor Gallagher, Enzo Fernandez, Levi Colwill, Robert Sanchez and Thiago Silva have opened Chelsea’s eight matches so far. Raheem Sterling has also appeared in all eight but has only started seven. Eddie Nketiah and Kai Havertz have appeared in Arsenal’s eight.
But Arsenal’s tally would likely be higher if Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli had remained fit throughout. Gabriel Magalhaes has also regained his pivotal starting spot in the Gunners’ XI. So, as Merson suggests, Pochettino only has to guess a couple of positions.
Receive a digest of our best Arsenal content each week direct to your mailbox
