Key events
22 min: Dear Michael Oliver, stop delaying the taking of every set piece to have a sincere chat with anyone who dares push into anyone else in the penalty box. Yours, everyone watching.
21 min: Cucurella v Saka was a battle for the ages in the Euros final and round two is proving just as captivating so far.
Colwill is rightly booked for a scything challenge on the England winger. Got nowhere near the ball.
20 min: First Caicedo does brilliantly to bring it away from trouble and then Palmer does a Palmer, turning cutely away from his man before driving forward. It ends with Madueke heading wide from Neto’s cross. Better from the Chels.
18 min: Caicedo has absolutely flattened Ødegaard and he’s somehow escaped without a booking. Palmer is complaining to the referee about something or other.
17 min: Gary Neville has been talking about Arsenal’s need for “invention and creativity” on the UK broadcast and there’s been a hint of that in the past few minutes. They’re certainly controlling matters right now.
14 mins: Saka hustles back, hassles Caicedo and wins it for Arsenal high up the pitch. The Gunners then work it down the right with White teasing in a cross that nobody can latch onto.
They’re coming back into this now, after a slow-ish opening 10 minutes.
12 min: Chelsea aren’t offering much bite from their set-pieces. Methinks the away side will rely on those dead-ball situations a little more, given their superb record.
10 min: Arsenal’s first set-piece of the game, a corner from the left, is won by Gabriel – with Rice getting a second chance to hook it in following a few handbags in the Chelsea box. Caicedo is furious at Havertz for going down. Six of one …
When the ball finally comes in, it nearly falls for Ben White at the back post. Chelsea just about clear and counter.
8 min: Enzo Maresca has obviously deemed Reece James unworthy of a starting spot today and that’s completely understandable. Malo Gusto is far more comfortable on the right and is having a big say already in this game, with Cucurella a more natural fit at left-back.
6 min: Chelsea are breaking lines with relative ease at the moment, as Palmer starts to pick up possession in the hole.
5 min: The first few minutes of this game have been played at a frightening pace. Finally there’s some calm with Chelsea’s defenders on the ball, waiting for the Gunners’ press.
3 min: Madueke surges down the right and feeds the onrushing Gusto, who has bust a gut to get to the byline. Palmer then has a pot-shot to sting David Raya’s fingertips. The keeper does well to tip it over the bar.
Two more emails as the early knockings are played out.
Chelsea fan Krishnamoorthy: “If Chelsea wins today, we will be 3rd on the table. I do not remember when was the last time we were that high on the table for a two week period. Makes me giddy that even a draw would guarantee that. I do hope the backroom staff of Arsenal have lost the Cole Palmer voodoo doll for this afternoon.”
Charles Antaki of an Arsenal persuasion: “On the one hand, yes, great to see the A-Team back for the Arsenal; on the other hand, Arsenal fans will have palpitations every time Ødegaard or Rice goes down, grimaces or just stands about with his hands on his hips looking pensive. Are they sufficiently recovered? Will they totter about ineffectively before collapsing or being taken off? It’s a fine line between anticipation and angst, although I suppose the A in A-Team could stand for either of those two things. Awkward, perhaps.”
KICK OFF
After a period of silence and the sounding of the Last Post on Remembrance Sunday, we’re off and running Stamford Bridge.
A roar greets the sound of the referee’s whistle. The ref is Michael Oliver, incidentally.
Today’s match reports so far:
Some emails are dropping in my inbox ahead of kick-off:
Joe Pearson says: “Good morning, Dom, from a rather gloomy and overcast Indianapolis. As a Liverpool fan, a high-scoring draw would be just what the doctor ordered. Please deliver. Thanks!”
Jeff Sax adds: “I have been saying for two years that Arteta does not have what it takes to win the Premier League …”
The Chelsea double midfield fulcrum of Moisés Caicedo and Roméo Lavia has been gaining deserved plaudits lately and it’ll be fascinating to see how they fare against top-drawer opposition. Caicedo impressed last week at Manchester United but Lavia wasn’t able to dictate the game like he has been doing. The latter is just 20 so his ceiling is sky-high and today feels like a decent test of his credentials.
The two managers have been speaking ahead of kick-off and you can watch their musings here:
“Thank you to all the medical staff” ❤️
Mikel Arteta praises Arsenal’s medical team as Odegaard and Rice start against Chelsea 🙌 pic.twitter.com/9uAZqcLyQU
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) November 10, 2024
Will Chelsea and Arsenal be among the inevitably long list of suitors for Viktor Gyökeres in the summer? With Ruben Amorim, United will consider themselves favourites but the two London clubs may be after a prolific No.9.
Before this weekend, Manchester United and Newcastle were supposedly struggling, Nottingham Forest were flying and Tottenham were gathering major momentum. Today:
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Manchester United win 3-0
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Newcastle win 3-1 at Forest
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Tottenham lose at home to Ipswich
Greatest league in the world.
Does this mark a return to the days of Sky Sports’ ‘GRAND SLAM SUNDAY’ branding? Let’s hope so.
Barring a 3-0 win at Preston in the Carabao Cup, it’s been a lean old run for Arsenal since the previous international break – especially away from home. The Gunners have blanked at Bournemouth, Inter and Newcastle, a streak of defeats that has prompted questions over Mikel Arteta’s tactics and the team’s general fluency.
Will the return of Ødegaard prove panacea for all those problems? Barney Ronay doubts it.
We’re into the final 30 minutes of the earlier kick-offs:
So everyone starts, injury doubt or not! Palmer is probably not a huge surprise. Maresca has played his cards fairly close to his chest in recent press conferences when asked about the playmaker’s fitness and was helped by the fact Palmer isn’t in Chelsea’s Conference League squad. He should be fit and firing to take centre-stage today. Reece James drops to the Blues’ bench with Cucurella preferred and Gusto going to right-back.
The bigger worry is over Arsenal’s injured contingent, with Declan Rice apparently playing despite a broken toe and Ødegaard only just back from a long-standing ankle issue.
The positive upshot for both sides – and the neutrals – is two benches packed with potential game-changers: Félix, Nkunku, Trossard, Jesus … oooft.
Team news
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sánchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Jackson.
Subs: Jorgensen, Badiashile, James, Tosin, Veiga, Fernández, Mudryk, J.Félix, Nkunku.
Arsenal (4-3-3): Raya; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber; Rice, Partey, Ødegaard; Saka, Havertz, Martinelli.
Subs: Neto, Kiwior, Zinchenko, Lewis-Skelly, Merino, Jorginho, Nwaneri, Trossard, Jesus.
With official team news due at 3.15pm, we await news on several key midfielders. Arsenal fans will be desperate to see Declan Rice and Martin Ødegaard. Word is both players have arrived at Stamford Bridge, along with Kai Havertz and Mikel Merino who both picked up knocks in Milan in midweek.
Chelsea’s concerns centre around Cole Palmer, who was on the end of a bash from Lisandro Martinez at Manchester United last weekend, but the general consensus seems to be that Palmer will be fine. He’d arguably be the biggest miss of the lot.
Here’s some pre-match reading for you.
Preamble
It’s the headline game of the weekend without doubt, and a rarity in being a clash between two elite teams that is so difficult to predict. There are cases to be made for both sides. Chelsea, one of the Premier League’s in-form sides, are fresh off an 8-0 victory and have built renewed hope under Enzo Maresca of late; although Arsenal, albeit they have been disjointed and tetchy of late, have the pedigree of having pushed for the title in the past two seasons – during which time Chelsea finished down in mid-table.
There are some mouthwatering individual contests to observe that will decide the contest. Will Nicolas Jackson win the battle against William Saliba? Can Declan Rice shackle Cole Palmer (if the latter is fit)? And could Chelsea’s new-look, all-action midfield rule the roost or will Martin Ødegaard (if fit) provide the Gunners a timely boost in that area?
Official team news is coming up soon, kick-off is at 4.30pm GMT (UK time). Should be a good’un.