Arsenal hosts Chelsea in a big-four clash of premier league on 10 May 2009 (Sunday) at the Emirates Stadium. This match could be considered as a third or fourth place deciding match of Champions league as both Arsenal and Chelsea were knocked out from last week’s Champions league semi finals by Manchester United and Barcelona respectively. So, both teams are now looking to recover from their midweek defeats in Europe ahead of Sunday’s premier league showdown.
Match: Arsenal vs Chelsea; English Premier League 2008-2009
Date: 10 May 2009, Sunday
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, England
Kick off: 16:00 BST (British Standard Time)
With 68 points from 35 games, Arsenal is now in the fourth place and after their 3-0 win over Portsmouth in their last premier league outing, Arsenal has already secured their place in the qualifying round of Champions League next season as the Gunners are now 10 points ahead of fifth-placed Aston Villa. Arsenal is now 6 points adrift of third placed Chelsea in the league table with three matches yet to go in the season. Gunners are now gearing up to finish the season third in the point table in what would allow Arsenal to qualify for the Champions league group stage.
A victory for Arsenal would close the gap to 3 points on Chelsea, and thus, creating a realistic chance for Arsenal to finish the season at the third place. Chelsea would also be looking for 3 points from the game as they are still in the title race. Though Chelsea is 6 points behind leader Manchester United with only 3 matches left in the season, their hopes of retaining premier league title is not yet literally finished. So, this is a very important match for Chelsea and they know that a defeat would put uncertainty over their third place finish. So, Guus Hiddink’s men would not like to give any chance to Arsenal who are currently undefeated for 21 matches in premier league. Though retaining the premier league title seems to be a distant reality for Chelsea, the Blues have all the chances to finish the season at the second place which is currently secured by Liverpool with 3 points lead over Chelsea.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said that the team which would overcome from their midweek Champions League blow better would be the winner. He also said that Arsenal’s rebound mission would be easier as Gunners never looked to be in the right track to qualify in both of the semi final legs, while Chelsea, in contrast, were already setting up a rematch with Manchester United at the Champions league final, before an Andres Iniesta strike broke Chelsea’s heart with just 2 minutes off the final whistle.
Well, there is no doubt, it would be crucial for both sides to retain their confidence back following their champions league defeats. For Chelsea, they still have a chance of winning silverware this season as they are waiting to face Everton in the FA Cup final, but for Arsenal, there is no hope of winning any silverware for the fourth successive season. What Arsenal can do best is to finish the season winning three remaining matches.
Chelsea will miss their Ivorian striker Didier Drogba who suffered an ankle injury during 1-1 draw with Barcelona in Europe. Moreover, the striker’s heated spat with referee after the second leg semi final defeat indicated a psychological meltdown for player. Chelsea would also miss the services of Joe Cole and Paulo Ferreira who are currently sidelined with injury. Well, Arsenal also has a number of injury blows ahead of Chelsea’s visit of Emirates stadium. Defender Gael Clichy and striker Eduardo have now been ruled out of the season with injury problem. However, the biggest injury concern for Wenger ahead of Chelsea match is the illness of midfielder Andrei Arshavin who is now recovering from flu. With Arshavin out for the Chelsea match, Arsenal midfield is expected to be led by Captain Cesc Fabregas.
Online Live Score and Updates
Here, I am giving some website names from where you can get the live score and updates of the match:
Live Score
Goalzz
Live Football Scores
Goal.com
Footie Scorez
I am not going to pick up any side favorite for the match as both sides are looking to recover from their midweek wound suffered in Europe. Arsenal will have home advantage, but the absence of inspirational playmaker Arshavin could be a huge blow for the Gunners. However, Guus Hiddink men might be inspired to bounce back strongly to recover from their disappointment in Europe, which is now badly needed for Chelsea ahead of their FA Cup final match against Everton. I think, both sides would start the match pretty much safely, but it could an entertaining affair if both teams can get over their midweek disappointments in Europe and play some of their best football.
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