Arsenal vs Chelsea: 6 Keys for the Gunners to Overcome Their London Rivals

1 -> Contain Fernando Torres




Upon arriving at Chelsea for 50 million pounds, a sum of money that is still considered completely excessive, Torres had high expectations.

Within the first few months, however, the Spaniard failed to perform and was one of the biggest laughingstocks of the footballing world. 

Recently, however, Torres has picked up the form that he was in a few years ago. After having been made fun of, he has returned to scoring goals, for example when he netted two against Genk in the Champions League.

Since he is back and confident, he is a player that the Gunners really need to contain. Of course, Didier Drogba's red card last week earned him a suspension, and therefore he won't be present.

Arsenal need to make sure that Torres doesn't have a lot of space to work with, and he should always be challenged when he has the ball.

Since Thomas Vermaelen is returning for Arsenal, they should have a better chance of stopping the often dynamic Torres.

2 -> Possess In Midfield

Against Tottenham on October 2, Arsene Wenger made a great move by putting three Gunners controlling midfield against the Spurs' two. As a result, Arsenal were dictating play in the middle of the pitch, and even though they didn't win the match, it was something that they should always try to achieve.

Of course, against Chelsea's midfield, it won't be possible to have a three-on-two situation in the Gunners' favor, but possessing in the neutral areas of the pitch would always be great.

Ramsey, Arteta, and Song are Arsenal's three main midfielders, and they should try to overpower Chelsea's midfield, especially the likes of Frank Lampard.

When near Chelsea's eighteen-yard box, they should look for a through ball to try and finish a goal, as they did against Stoke, when Ramsey lifted a ball over the Potters' defense to Gervinho, who scored a nice goal.

If Arteta or Ramsey could attempt those balls and target van Persie or Gervinho, the Gunners' would have a high chance of scoring.

3 -> Get The Ball To Gervinho Out Wide

Gervinho signed for Arsenal during the summer for 10.4 million pounds.

Though some—including myself—thought he would be a flop, the former Lille man who had just lead his team to a Ligue 1 victory proved people wrong.

For the Gunners, the Ivorian international has been phenomenal: the most effective creator of plays on the Arsenal squad in my mind.

On the flanks, Gervinho has been able to weave through defenders and has already scored two Premier League goals while assisting three. Two of those assists came last week, as he passed to Robin van Persie, who scored a brace. He also scored one last week.

On Saturday, the Gunners should definitely try to use him to create something out of nothing.

Hopefully for the Gunners, Gervinho will be able to do something effective, and maybe a run of his will either directly or indirectly result in a goal.

4 -> Use Robin Van Persie to His Maximum

Robin van Persie is Arsenal's hero.

With the departures of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Robin van Persie has had to step up as leader and captain of the squad.

And he really has done a great job. After having a slow first couple of games, van Persie has picked up his form.

Not only has the Dutch striker been a fantastic vocal leader, but he has scored seven goals so far this season, which is fourth in the Premier League.

Last week, he came on as a 67' minute substitute as the Gunners were tied 1-1 with Stoke. van Persie scored two goals in just over twenty minutes and showed everyone why he is the leader of this struggling Arsenal team.

Against Chelsea, Arsene Wenger will really need him to perform, as the Blues' stellar defense will not allow much.

But Robin van Persie's magic can never be underestimated.

  5 ->  Defend in Chelsea's Half of the Field

I know it sounds stupid, given that Arsenal have a bad defense.

But against Chelsea in late December of 2010, when the Gunners prevailed 3-1, the key to their success was winning the ball in the opposing half of the pitch.

This just put a lot of pressure on Chelsea, who started losing confidence since they couldn't force the ball out of their own half.

Of course, this doesn't mean that they should throw ten men forward, but if they could start challenging the ball near Chelsea's eighteen-yard box and not letting Villas-Boas' defense have a moment of rest, it would change things immensely.

Wenger should keep the center backs further back but let Song, Ramsey, Arteta, and others attack the ball near the Chelsea goal.

This could lead to a couple of quick goals for the Gunners.

 

6 ->  Remain cool even after they concede

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

When the average football fan thinks of teams that are mentally tough, Arsenal isn't exactly the first team that comes to mind.

When faced with a tough situation, the Gunners are quick to lose confidence.

If a goal is scored on them to make it 1-0, they allow the other team to possess a lot, giving the opponent a huge psychological edge. The same thing happens when it's 1-1.

Against Manchester United, for example, United scored many goals in quick succession, due to Arsenal's mental lapses—of course the Red Devils were supremely better, but there was a huge psychological aspect to the whole thing.

This is one thing that really will be huge against Chelsea.

If a goal is conceded early, which isn't unlikely for the slow-starting Arsenal, they can't lose their heads; if they do, it will be a repeat of the Manchester United massacring. 

Prediction for the match: I think it will be a good free-flowing game, with lots of cards and lots of attacking. I think that Chelsea will eke out a 3-2 win to help them creep up on the Manchester clubs.

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