Arsenal were a bit clunky last time out against Aston Villa, while I love what Xabi Alonso is doing at Chelsea.
He doesn’t care about possession, and that’s not how Chelsea try to get results.
It’s strange because I had a look at how his Bayer Leverkusen side lined up when they won the Bundesliga, and they were pretty dominant possession-wise.
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So, it is quite alarming when you look at the two league games Chelsea have played and see how much of the ball they haven’t had. Against Fulham they only had 38% possession and then against Brighton it was down to 25%.
I don’t know whether that is by design or by just not having the players to dominate. They are still free-scoring, but they are conceding loads of goals too.
Whatever the reason, I don’t see it changing here. Arsenal are so powerful and the only question mark around them is if they are a forward or two short.
Even so, you would not exactly say they have a real weakness anywhere. The beauty of Mikel Arteta’s side is they can play in different ways.
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They demolished Manchester City in the Community Shield with some pure football, and played some nice stuff against Coventry too, but then they were able to grind out a win at Aston Villa as well.
Ultimately, whether they are free-flowing or not, their organisation should see them through this game too.
Sutton’s prediction: 3-1
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