ARSENAL VS CHELSEA: LIFE AND DEATH IN LONDON

When asked if he thought football was a matter of life and death, legendary manager of Liverpool, Bill Shankly, responded “I can assure you, it’s a lot more important than that.” This Sunday, as Arsenal host Chelsea, those famous words ring true. Although, even if Chelsea begrudge Arsenal a victory, the result is unlikely to have any impact on the title race, following a resurgent Manchester United’s failure to take any points home from Stamford Bridge. Yet, the fixture is sure to be one with a high degree of intensity, with both teams gunning for the win.

Chelsea resorted to an infamous tactic of ‘parking the bus’, frequently deployed by their charismatic manager Jose Mourinho, who wasted no energy in chasing the win against United, waiting instead for the chance to counter. The fixture recorded remarkable statistics, most importantly was the 72% of possession enjoyed by United, who incidentally were also ahead on the total amount of shots, corners, free kicks, throw ins and every other statistic except the only one that mattered at the end of the 90 minutes: goals. Many expect Chelsea to do the same against their London rivals, who they face in the upcoming gameweek. But the ground realities of that fixture are a little different.

Mourinho has taken every opportunity to remind Arsenal’s manager, Arsene Wenger that in 12 head-to-head fixtures, in all competitions, Wenger has never beaten a side managed by him. Arsenal will thus be hoping to get lucky on the 13th. Besides luck, the gunners are in the form of their lives. Having won eight straight league matches, having lost only three points since the start of 2015. The team is further buoyed by the news that for the first time since 2005, they have their full 25 man squad, free of injuries. Furthermore, frontman Olivier Giroud has emerged from a slump in form, following developments in his personal life, which had a clear effect on his on-pitch performances, to become the club’s most prolific scorer in this recent run.

Chelsea on the other hand, despite being second only to Arsenal in overall form as judged by the Premier League’s form guide, have looked shaky. What should have been routine wins against Hull, Stoke and QPR, were in fact hard fought wins, which required goalkeeping errors from the opposition in all three matches to get three points. Even after having dispatched the Manchester United threat, they will not be overly confident that they can repeat the performance at the Emirates, with the club’s top scorer Diego Costa still a major doubt for the match. The team lined up last week against United with 37 year old Didier Drogba filling in the striker role, the Ivorian is at his second spell with Chelsea and was deputising in the role following injuries to both Costa and second choice striker Loic Remy. Reports have emerged that he too may have picked up an ankle injury having pulled out of a charity match on the 20th of April. The news is definitely one that Arsenal fans will rejoice over, even with his advancing years, Drogba has been a constant thorn in Arsenal’s side over the years.

More importantly than Drogba, in order for the Gunners to do everything in their power to prevent Chelsea aces Francesc Fabregas and Eden Hazard from having any significant impact on the game, they will have to look to defensive fulcrum Francis Coquelin. His recent performances have cemented his place among Arsenal’s glittering midfield, standing shoulder to shoulder with the high value and full of flair midfield trio of Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez. Coquelin has the highest win percentage of any outfield player in Arsenal’s starting line-up. The assured hands of David Ospina who boasts the highest win percentage of any player in the league are likely to boost the team’s confidence as well.

Chelsea will go into the Emirates chasing the win, knowing that amassing the three points would mathematically rule out the chance of losing the title, and lifting the trophy after winning at their London rival’s home turf is surely a mouth-watering prospect for Mourinho. For Arsenal the prospect of breaking their jinx against Mourinho is enough for them to go in all guns blazing and would be the perfect end to a season which has seen them go from being fourth place makeweights to title contenders. A win against Chelsea would likely see them go into their record breaking 19th FA Cup final, confident of retaining the trophy. In short, for all concerned, manager, players and fans -- a matter of life and death.