Arsenal welcome Chelsea to the Emirates this afternoon in a Premier League London derby with pressure already on the Gunners to cause an upset.
Mikel Arteta’s side have had something of a frustrating transfer window despite the £50m arrival of Ben White - but the additions of Martin Odegaard and Aaron Ramsdale may placate fans after stumbling into the new season with a 2-0 opening-day defeat at newly-promoted Brentford.
The performance and result set alarm bells ringing, and Arsenal must pick themsleves up quickly if they are to better last season’s eighth-placed finish.
As for Chelsea, the Champions League holders are expected to be serious title contenders this term - especially after re-signing £97.5m Romelu Lukaku. The Blues brushed off Crystal Palace 3-0 last weekend, and Thomas Tuchel will be confident of three more points in north London... but anything can happen in a derby.
Date, kick-off time and venue
Arsenal vs Chelsea is scheduled for a 4:30pm BST kick-off today, August 22, 2021.
The match will be played at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal vs Chelsea tickets
Click here for more ticket information from Arsenal’s website, and click here for Chelsea ticket info.
Where to watch Arsenal vs Chelsea
TV channel: Today’s match will be televised on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event.
Live stream: Sky Sports subscribers will be able to watch the match online via the website or Sky Go.
Arsenal vs Chelsea team news and lineups
Romelu Lukaku made his second debut for Chelsea as one of three changes for their short trip to face Arsenal.
The Belgium striker rejoined the Blues from Inter Milan last week and came in for Timo Werner.
Kai Havertz and Reece James were recalled in place of Trevoh Chalobah and Christian Pulisic, who recently tested positive for Covid.
Arsenal have had a number of players missing following positive Covid tests but captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang returned to the bench.
Defender Ben White missed out, the latest casualty of coronavirus, with Rob Holding replacing him at the back.
Bukayo Saka made his first start of the campaign as the Gunners also made three alterations from their opening-day defeat at Brentford with Cedric Soares the other to come in for Mikel Arteta’s men.
Arsenal: Leno, Cedric, Holding, Pablo Mari, Tierney, Sambi Lokonga, Xhaka, Saka, Smith-Rowe, Martinelli, Pepe
Subs: Aubameyang, Maitland-Niles, Tavares, Chambers, Nelson, Elneny, Balogun, Kolasinac, Ramsdale
Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Mount, Havertz, Lukaku
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Thiago Silva, Kante, Werner, Chalobah, Zouma, Hudson-Odoi, Chilwell, Ziyech
Referee: Paul Tierney
Arsenal vs Chelsea prediction
On paper, Chelsea are firm favourites for this derby - but given Arsenal won both meetings last season, it is unwise to back a comprehensive victory.
Much will depend on whether Aubemayeng and Lacazette are available, as Arsenal looked short of attacking ideas against Brentford in their absence.
Still, Chelsea will fancy their chances of a win with Lukaku likely to play some part.
Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
Head to head (h2h) history and results
Arsenal wins: 80
Draws: 58
Chelsea wins: 65
Arsenal won both League meetings last season, beating Chelsea 3-1 at home in December and leaving Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 victory in May.
Betting odds and tips
- Arsenal to win: 7/2
- Draw: 13/5
- Chelsea to win: 3/4
- Romelu Lukaku anytime goalscorer: Evens
