Will Mikel Arteta overcome his semi-final hoodoo?

Arsenal were able to dismantle Portsmouth in the best way they know how. Set pieces and an own goal. Martinelli scored two off a corner, the own goal was from a corner and the other Martinelli goal was the result of a quick free kick. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how you score, just that you score. Arsenal will face Wigan Athletic at home in the next round of the FA Cup. Before then will be many, many fixtures. First up is another domestic cup game against Chelsea, the first of two legs. The first leg will take place at Stamford Bridge.

Form

Liam Rosenior is the new man at the helm for Chelsea and his first game saw his side win 5-1, against Charlton in the FA Cup. This is a great start to life, but the real challenge awaits him in the shape of Arsenal. A lot of Chelsea’s form will have to be based on Enzo Maresca’s tenure. This means that in the last five games, Chelsea only have one win. That was against Charlton. The Blues have only won a single game, in the Premier League, since the 30th November. This is an awful run of form that has seen them draw five times and seen them lose on three occasions. The most recent league fixture saw them lose 2-1 against Fulham after getting Marc Cucurella sent off.

Arsenal’s head-to-head has been very good against Chelsea in recent years. This season they were able to pick up a 1-1 draw away at Stamford Bridge. In fact, Chelsea haven’t beaten Arsenal since August 2021. This bodes well for Arsenal, but all streaks come to an end eventually.

Liam Rosenior himself came from Strasbourg, a club owned by BlueCo who own Chelsea. The French side have had a respectable domestic campaign. They sit 7th in the Ligue 1. He won as many games as he lost, 7 a piece. The Conference League is where Strasbourg have really impressed, winning five out of the six games available. There seemed to be a slight lean on European form over domestic, but that’s the challenge of juggling two difficult competitions.

Injuries/Absences

Romeo Lavia and Levi Colwill are two that are definitely out through injury. Moises Caicedo will also be a huge loss due to his suspension, he will only miss the first leg though. Chelsea do have three big doubts for the game, Liam Rosenior admits they’ll need a late decision on whether they’ll be included. The trio are; Malo Gusto, Cole Palmer and Reece James. If Chelsea are to be without those three, it’ll be an enormous task to overcome Arsenal. Marc Cucurella won’t serve his suspension in the either cup games, it’ll be for just one Premier League fixture.

Arsenal will be without Riccardo Calafiori, Piero Hincapie, Cristhian Mosquera and Max Dowman. Leandro Trossard and William Saliba are said to be carrying niggles, but will be available if they can be.

Chelsea Predicted Lineup

It’s hard to know which direction Rosenior will take his side, however, he does trust young talent and Chelsea are full of it. I’m assuming that Palmer, James and Gusto will be unavailable. Without Caicedo or James to sit in midfield, Enzo Fernandez will likely have to occupy the box-to-box midfield role with Andrey Santos alongside him. Attacking options are plenty, but I can see Estevao getting a lot of attention from Rosenior. In France, Chelsea’s new manager liked to play with three at the back. I can’t see him adopting that style in this league due to Chelsea’s reliance on using wingers, not wing backs. This is probably the strongest side that Chelsea can field with what they have available.

Arsenal Predicted Lineup

It’s difficult to know who will be available for tomorrow, especially since Trossard and Saliba are only slight doubts. Everyone else kind of picks themselves. If Saliba becomes unavailable then Timber will probably slot in at centre back with Ben White coming in at right back. If Trossard can’t make it then either Gabriel Martinelli or Eberechi Eze will come in.

Predicted Result: Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal

If Chelsea really will be without Gusto, Palmer, Caicedo and James then I can see Arsenal physically overpowering this Chelsea side. Kai Havertz is back around the squad and Arsenal have deep depth on the bench. If Arsenal can win this game then it’ll be a huge boost for the return leg and I think that’s what Arteta will strive for. However, Arteta has a bad record in two-legged semi finals. He’s lost three that he’s taken part in and has only actually scored one goal. Arteta hasn’t yet won a semi final game that’s taken place over two legs. This is a worrying sign, but as I said earlier, all streaks must come to an end. Let’s get it!