Arsenal host Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium before the international break in March.
The Gunners absolutely battered the Blues in the same fixture last season. Mikel Arteta’s side beat Chelsea 5-0 in what was a very dominant display from the home side.
Arsenal fans would love a repeat of that on Sunday, but two players who started the game last season will not be fit this time – Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz.
To add to that, if Arteta’s latest comments are anything to go by, another Arsenal player may have to settle for a role as a substitute instead of starting on Sunday.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta hints Gabriel Martinelli will not start against Chelsea for one reason
Gabriel Martinelli has had a difficult season at Arsenal.
The Brazil international had his struggles with form early in the season. He came under a fair bit of criticism too for some of his performances.
Things further got complicated in February as the 23-year-old suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out of the side for a little over a month.
Martinelli made a surprise return for the game against Manchester United. He came on as a substitute at Old Trafford and did the same against PSV on Wednesday.
Arsenal fans have been wondering if he could now return to the side from the start, but Arteta’s comments suggest otherwise.
In his press conference, the Arsenal manager was asked if Martinelli will start or if we will see Mikel Merino continue playing as a number nine.
Arteta replied: “With Gabi now, we have more options, but it’s true that we have to really manage the load. He has been a little bit ahead of schedule.
“That’s why we didn’t want to take and we don’t want to take any more risks with him, loading him with more minutes.”
The common problem Arsenal and Chelsea share ahead of the London Derby
When the season started, everyone expected Arsenal to be miles ahead of Chelsea at this stage of the campaign, but that hasn’t happened.
The two sides are separated by just six points at the moment.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 29 | 21 | 7 | 1 | 69 | 27 | 42 | 70 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 28 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 52 | 24 | 28 | 55 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 28 | 15 | 6 | 7 | 45 | 33 | 12 | 51 |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 28 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 53 | 36 | 17 | 49 |
| 5 |  Man CityManchester City | 28 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 53 | 38 | 15 | 47 |
That is because Arsenal have had injury issues all season, while Chelsea have had problems recently too – in an area where Arteta’s side is hurting.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea will go into the game on Sunday without a natural striker available.
Merino is expected to lead Arsenal’s line, while Pedro Neto could get another chance in a central role for the Blues at the Emirates.
That’s not ideal at all for either club, but both of them will take comfort from the fact that the other side is having the exact same problem.
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