Five ways for Arsenal to beat Chelsea

Arsenal play Chelsea this Sunday in a high-octane game that is sure to go some way in deciding who will occupy the four Champions League spots come the end of the campaign.

Here are five ways Arsenal can inflict a home defeat on Chelsea.

1. Keep close tabs on Juan Mata

Juan Mata is the fulcrum around whom Chelsea are built. Capable of playing either on the wings, as a creative midfielder or in the hole just behind the striker, the Spain midfielder delivers consistent performances week in, week out.

Now in his second season at Stamford Bridge, it is quite obvious who the successor to Frank Lampard will be. He had been given a respite for a month or so to avoid burnout after Spain’s triumphant European Championship run in the summer, and it seems to have reaped Chelsea rich reward.

He is Chelsea’s joint-top scorer this season, having found the back of the net seven times, along with Frank Lampard and Fernando Torres, and is their leading assist man, having set up his team mates on eight different occasions.

For Arsenal to win the game, they need to make sure Juan Mata is kept out of it. Let a man stick to him, close him down when he has the ball and don’t give him the space required to orchestrate play in the middle of the park.

The Gunners know full well what the 24-year-old is capable of. He assisted the first goal that led to Fernando Torres opening the scoring at the Emirates and scored the second from a set-piece to seal all three points and hand Arsenal their first home defeat of the campaign.

2. Play Per Mertesacker

Cup form aside, Arsenal have lost only three league game this season in which Per Mertesacker has started at the back.

The 6ft 6in German has been the bedrock on which the Gunners defence has been constructed this season and is the perfect complement to both Laurent Koscielny and Captain Thomas Vermaelen.

While both France defender Koscielny and Belgium international Vermaelen are sparky, incisive players, their style of play makes them vulnerable to errors: a definite no-no for any defender in the Barclays Premier League.

It is here where the giant German can infuse his back line with calm. Although not blessed with a great deal of pace, few in the Premier League can read the game the way he does. That, coupled with his positioning, makes him an invaluable asset to Arsene Wenger.

Having already received comparisons to North London legend Tony Adams, Mertesacker has silenced those critics who pointed at his failures in his first season in England with a string of assured, confident performances.

Not one to buckle under pressure, the Big F***ing German is a player the Gunners would do well to start at Stamford Bridge, where they are sure to be at the end of a hostile reception from the Blues, who will expect their expensively assembled side to fire on all cylinders in the battle for the Champions League spots.

3. Cycle play between Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla

Jack Wilshere has been getting back to his magnificent best for Arsenal this season and you can expect another Mr. Arsenal-esque performance from him at Stamford Bridge.

The Chelsea game has come for him at the right time to put on display another masterclass in technical football, but Blues manager Rafael Benitez will surely be aware of this and will try to mark him out of the game.

Too often this season, Arsenal have been found guilty of telegraphed, mimetic football that the opposition are able to read very easily. Santi Cazorla was their only go-to man when the two sides locked horns at Ashburton Grove earlier this season.

Chelsea stuck to him like flies on sugar all game and the Gunners were robbed of their best creative outlet. For this reason, it is important for the diminutive duo and Abou Diaby, who is a certainty to start with Mikel Arteta injured and Francis Coquelin too inexperienced for a game of this magnitude, to cycle possession between them.

If one of these two players is blocked, the other will give Arsenal the creative outlet they need to go forward.

Cazorla may not be delivering the action-packed performances he did at the beginning of the season, but he is still deadly, and Wilshere deserved his man-of-the-match award against Swansea in his side’s FA Cup Third Round replay, after he scored Arsenal’s late winner.

4. Let Arsenal’s front three interchange positions, don’t let Chelsea do the same.

Genuine wingers are rare at Arsenal, and while Lukas Podolski is anything but a wide player, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been earmarked for a position in the centre of the park.

Theo Walcott has been deployed as a central striker of late, Olivier Giroud is a centre forward who is comfortable going out wide to receive the ball, and Tomas Rosicky is a creative midfielder through and through.

Whoever starts for Arsenal tomorrow, it is important they keep the Chelsea rearguard on their toes and find the back of the net.

At the same time, it is important Chelsea’s attacking trio are not allowed to do the same.

With Fernando Torres out of form and Demba Ba having hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge, it seems rather likely he will get the nod over the World Cup winner, alongside Eden Hazard and one of Oscar or Victor Moses.

All of the above players are excellent passers, extremely pacy and possess an excellent shot.

Arsenal fans need little reminding of the havoc Ba caused when Newcastle came to the Emirates on the 29^th of December, although given the 7-3 scoreline, his efforts will be relegated to a mere footnote.

Eden Hazard has been one of Chelsea’s most dangerous players this season, chipping in with six goals and as many assists.

Oscar is capable of some sublime performances and could pull the trigger when Arsenal least expect it.

Victor Moses is beginning to get into his stride in London. Blessed with great pace and power, Moses has scored five times in all competitions and also has three assists to his name.

Torres may not be the player he was at Liverpool, but he needs one performance to rediscover the magic he had at Anfield. Arsenal should make sure it does not come against them.

5. Take advantage of Chelsea’s poor home record

The European Champions have only won two of their last six home games. Among them are a 2-2 draw against Southampton where they threw away a two-goal lead and a stunning 0-1 upset at the hands of bottom side Queens Park Rangers.

Arsenal must get out of the traps running and press Chelsea at every occasion, both with and without the ball. Although Chelsea’s quality is unquestionable, the home fans do not quite know what to make of Benitez just yet and that could seep into the home side’s psychology.

Arsenal bossed the game the last time they came to Stamford Bridge, winning 5-3 with a Robin van Persie hat trick, and goals apiece from Andre Santos and Theo Walcott.

Should Arsenal play their game and not panic, they could achieve the same result this time round as well.

What do you guys think? Do let me know in the comments section below.