Arsenal vs Chelsea 2011-12 Preview

Big game, and not much time for a lengthy preview. Cue bullet points!

• It's a must-win game for Chelsea, while it is not so much a must-win for us as a must-not-lose game. Having said that, I expect Chelsea to play on the counter attack. We really need to be careful if and when we lose possession.
• It was a mad match when we played them earlier at Stamford Bridge, with us getting the better of them with a 5-3 scoreline. I don't see that repeating today.
• Chelsea will be a largely changed side from the one that beat Barca in midweek in the first leg of the Champions League semi final. They'll want to keep their big guns for the second leg, but still the eleven they put out will test us all the same.
• Arsenal, meanwhile are without our most consistent midfielder of the season in Mikel Arteta and the onus is on young Ramsey to step up his play. The Welshman will be vital to our performance today.
• On the plus side, Laurent Koscielny returns having served his two match ban after accumulating ten yellow cards for the season. I hope he provides the defensive solidity we need today.

Team Line Ups:

Arsenal(4-2-3-1): Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs, Thomas Vermaelen, Laurent Koscielny, Bacary Sagna, Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott, Robin van Persie.

Substitutes: Lukasz Fabianski, Andre Santos, Johan Djourou, Francis Coquelin, Abou Diaby, Gervinho, Marouane Chamakh.

Manager: Arsene Wenger.


Chelsea(4-3-3): Petr Cech, Ryan Bertrand, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Jose Bosingwa, Florent Malouda, Oriol Romeu, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou, Fernando Torres, Daniel Sturridge.

Substitutes: Ross Turnbill, Paulo Ferreira, Ashley Cole, John Obi Mikel, Raul Meireles, Frank Lampard, Juan Mata.

Manager: Roberto di Matteo.