Arsenal in Injury Crisis ahead of Chelsea Clash

Arsenal travels across the city to face champion Chelsea on Sunday in a highly anticipating Premier League encounter. However, manager Arsene Wenger would surely miss a number of first team players who are currently in the treatment room.

Arsenal’s injury problem begins right from the goalkeeping position as first choice keeper Manuel Almunia has been sidelined after picking up an injury while saving a penalty in 2-3 loss to West Bromwich Albion last week. However, Wenger’s worry would be subsided by Lukasz Fabianski’s excellent performance in Arsenal’s Champions League win over Partizan Belgrade in the midweek.

Captain Cesc Fabregas would also be missing the trip to Chelsea as the playmaker is currently recovering from a hamstring injury sustained during 1-1 home draw against Sunderland. Center back Thomas Vermaelen is another injury casualty, while Kieran Gibbs, who featured against Partizan, has been sidelined with a calf injury.

Up front Wenger has to do it with Marouane Chamakh and Carlos Vela as the likes of Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner will remain sidelined. Summer signing Chamakh, who has settled in Arsenal pretty quickly, is the most likely starter at Stamford Bridge.

Except last week’s loss at Manchester City, Chelsea has been in high flying form so far this season, leading the point table with 15 points from 6 games. The most worrying factor for Wenger could be Chelsea’s scoring form as the Blues found the back of the net 21 times in 6 matches. Didier Drogba, who was last season’s top scorer, has always been a threat for Arsenal as the Ivorian bagged 12 goals in his 10 meetings with Arsenal.

From this point of view, missing Vermaelen could be divisive for the Gunners. New signing Laurent Koscielny may have won some reliability, but Sebastien Squillaci is yet to show his best since his summer move from Sevilla.

Updates of Arsenal and Chelsea Match: 29 November 2009

Arsenal (0) vs Chelsea (3)

Chelsea has won the game 3-0 and with this victory they strengthened their position at the top.

90+5 minutes: The match has finished with a Chelsea victory.

90+2 minutes: Arshavin was in attack, but nothing happened.

90 minutes: Arsenal players seem to have given up now.

88 minutes: Drogba has been replaced by Malouda.

87 minutes: Drogba scored the 3rd goal of Chelsea from free kick. It is a superb goal.

85 minutes: Free kick for Chelsea as Fabregas illegally tackled Essien.

83 minutes: Time is running out for Arsenal.

80 minutes: Arsenal had another attack, but goal kick for Chelsea.

77 minutes: Chelsae is now on attack, but Arsenal defense was up to the mark.

74 minutes: Arshavin got the pass from Walcott, but failed to take the control of the ball.

72 minutes: Arsenal is attacking one after another. No doubt, Gunners are dominating the game now. Ashley Cole has been replaced by Ferreira.

68 minutes: Deco replaced Joe Cole.

65 minutes: Another good attack by Arsenal, but it was off side.

62 minutes: Arsenal got a free kick, but it did not look dangerous for the visiting side. Another good attack initiated by Fabregas.

59 minutes: Free kick for Chelsea as Traore fouled Ivanovic.

57 minutes: Eduardo comes in, Vela goes out.

55 minutes: Arsenal in in attack now.

52 minutes: Arsenal is trying to score, but Chelsea defense looks very strong.

49 minutes: Arshavin scored, but referee turned it down because Eduardo fouled on Chelsea keeper.

48 minutes: Arsenal was in attack, but nothing happened.

46 minutes: Second half has just started.

Chelsea is lading by 2-0 and it is now half time at Emirates stadium. We will be back with the second half updates.

45+2 minutes: This is the half time and both the goals came against the run of the play.

45 minutes: Another goal for Chelsea. It is a own goal. Vermaelen intended to clear it, but rather pushed it into the goal.

41 minutes: Drogba scored for Chelsea by tapping a left side cross home. The goal has come just against the run of play.

37 minutes: Drogba was shown yellow card for pushing Vermaelen illegally.

35 minutes: Arsenal had another good attack, but Nasri's shot was blocked by Peter Cech.

32 minutes: Cole got a warning from the referee, but no card.

29 minutes: Eduardo was off side, otherwise it could have been an opener for Arsenal.

27 minutes: Arsenal threatened on counter attack, but nothing happened.

26 minutes: Traore shown yellow card. Free kick for Chelsea, but was cleared for throw-in.

24 minutes: Arsenal has better ball possession than Chelsea.

22 minutes: Chelsea got a corner, well-taken, but nothing happened in the end.

20 minutes: Chelsea is on attack now.

18 minutes: Chelsea came close to score, but Anelka failed to beat Arsenal keeper alone in the goal.

17 minutes: Corner for Arsenal, but Arshavin's shot was gripped by Chelsea keeper.

16 minutes: Arsenal had another good attack, but nothing happened in the end. Arsenal players claimed for penalty, but referee turned it down.

14 minutes: It is now raining heavily at the Emirates stadium. Drogba looked dangerous, but was off side.

11 minutes: Free kick for Arsenal. Home side is playing better at the moment.

8 minutes: Arsenal got the first corner of the match, but poorly taken.

5 minutes: Arsenal is in attacking mode. Essien and Eduardo are little injured, but not serious.

3 minutes: Arsenal is on attack now. Arshavin threatened in Chelsea box.

1 minute: The match has started just now.

Two ‘big four’ clubs of English Premier League: Arsenal and Chelsea- are going to face each other today at the Emirates stadium. Football fans are waiting for the afternoon fixture and it will be interesting to see who between the two sides, who have so far been paying mesmerizing football this season, would win the match.

The match kicks off at 16:00 GMT. We will be giving live score and updates of the match in this entry. So, be with us and enjoy the live text commentary of the match.

Will Chelsea Survive against Young Arsenal Side?

Knowing that a win at Arsenal would increase their lead at the top, Chelsea will be looking to capitalize on their excellent form of recent and Arsenal’s injury blows. You know that Arsenal is missing some of their regular players like Robin van Persie, Clichy, Diaby, Bendtner and Gibbs who was doing the job for injured Clichy. That means, Wenger would have to do the job without his two first choice left back players, and feature Armand Traore who generally plays in the Cups.

On the other hand, Chelsea will have their playmaker Frank Lampard available for the trip to North London and it will definitely add to their already high confidence level. Chelsea has been in good form recently and it seems that they might be slightly favorite over the injury-hit Gunners, despite Arsenal’s home advantage. However, one thing is for sure that Arsene Wenger would try to ensure that his young Gunners would give their best shot against the league leaders. Chelsea may be leading the table, but they should also know that Arsenal has been playing spirited football so far this season and their scoring form is in evident of that.

Well, it is true that Arsenal is going through a tough time as they are without some of their key players, but given their squad strength and potential, there is every possibility Wenger boys could pull off a confidence booster victory at the Emirates stadium in the weekend. They still have the players like Fabregas and Arshavin who have the ability to win matches single-handedly. So, there are lots of reasons Chelsea should be wary of young Arsenal team who has a mentor like Arsene Wenger. Even a little mistake from Chelsea’s part could be lethal for the visitors. This match will be telecast live on Sky Sports 1 and Super Sports 3 television channels.

Chelsea to Miss Frank Lampard for the Arsenal Clash on 29 November 2009

Following a spirited 1-0 victory over Manchester United, Chelsea is now poised to hold on to its no. 1 position in the league table. Now, Chelsea is looking to strengthen their position at the top with another victory at Arsenal on 29 November. However, they have now suffered a blow as key midfielder Frank Lampard has been ruled out for the important premier league clash against Arsenal with a thigh injury. Lampard tore muscle in his left thigh when he was on international duty with England team in Qatar. Initially, it was thought that the player would be out for at least 6 weeks. However, it has now been confirmed that Lampard will be out of action for 3 weeks before making his come back.

So, Lampard will miss a number of games for Chelsea and it would not be easy for the Blues to deal with his absence. Arsenal has been in excellent form recently and Chelsea will definitely find it tough to take on the Gunners away from home. Now that, Lampard is missing the trip, it would only make the task tougher for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

Related article:

AFP

Chelsea Defeated Arsenal 2-1 to Reach the FA Cup 2009 Final

(This entry was originally published on Sunday, April 19th, 2009)

Thanks to Ivorian striker Didier Drogba’s last gasp winner, Chelsea edged past Arsenal 2-1 to reach the final of FA Cup 2008-09 on Saturday at the Wembley stadium. The match was not an entertaining one. Arsenal started off well in the match, taking a lead in the 18^th minute when Theo Walcott’s deflected shot went into the net. Since taking the 1-0 lead, Arsenal started struggling throughout the rest of the match and Chelsea started dominating their London rivals.

Florent Malouda leveled the score in the 33^rd minute. Arsenal remained defensive even after conceding the goal. Then Didier Drogba scored the winning goal for Chelsea in the 84^th minute after receiving a lofted pass from Frank Lampard. Well, Arsenal was missing a number of first team players due to injury. In fact, Arsenal missed five out of their four defensemen including goalkeeper Manual Alumnia, Johan Djourou, Gaël Clichy and William Gallas, who has been sidelined for rest of the season earlier this month. So, Arsene Wenger had to play a new set of defense line up against Chelsea and it took its toll on Arsenal’s performance. Now, let us see if Arsenal could put on better performance against Liverpool in the upcoming premier league home match on Tuesday. Chelsea will now face Everton in the FA Cup 2009 final as Everton defeated Manchester United on penalty shoot out 4-2 on Sunday to reach the final.

Related article:

sofiaecho

Arsenal vs Chelsea EPL 08-09: Preview, Live Score

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.