da pixbet： Victory over German side FC Cologne in the first group game of the Europa League was an unfamiliar feeling for Arsenal, as was the atmosphere in the ground on a strange night at the Emirates.
da fazobetai： But it was a challenge they overcame thanks to two fabulous strikes from Sead Kolasinac and Alexis Sanchez and a goal from Hector Bellerin, even if none of that will be remembered on an evening when the action came off the field and the headlines ran with other incidents.
Arsenal will have to move on swiftly, however. Champions Chelsea lie in wait this weekend, and another defeat to a top of the table club would leave Arsene Wenger’s side further and further away from their goal – which is surely to avoid playing Thursday night games before Premier League fixtures next season.
Will the Europa League campaign have an effect?
The transition from a midweek European night to a top-six Premier League clash is certainly something Arsenal have dealt with before, and blaming Thursday nights themselves would be a stretch.
It won’t always be an issue. Playing Thursday – Sunday is the same as playing Wednesday – Saturday, something that Arsenal have done before in the Champions League, often against a fellow Champions League side who may well have played on the Tuesday, affording them an extra day’s rest.
The situation this weekend is slightly more stark, however. Chelsea will have had Tuesday to Sunday to rest, whilst Arsenal have two days fewer to prepare: a situation a Champions League side will never face. For the Gunners, then, this side’s very first taste of Europa League football has allowed them to sample the quintessential problem with the competition, and the unusual nature of the game because of crowd incidents will only have added extra spice.
The one-hour delay to the kick-off is unlikely to make much of a difference in terms of their rest and preparation, whilst Arsene Wenger made nine changes in midweek, perhaps signalling his intention not to take the second-tier competition seriously – but it may also have been a deliberate ploy with Chelsea in mind this weekend.
Has Arsene Wenger managed to lift his squad?
If that’s the case, it’s a dangerous move. Losing at home to Cologne would have caused quite a bit of negative press around a team who seem to have generated nothing but negative coverage in the last month or so. And yet, victory was achieved and key players were rested. All in all, Arsenal should be set up as well as they can be for a trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Aside from that, the Gunners have managed to record two victories since their capitulation away to Liverpool and the trauma of the transfer deadline. Yet, despite victories over Bournemouth and Cologne, this will be the real test of whether Arsenal’s squad is still capable of competing at the top despite early setbacks.
It will also prove to us if Arsene Wenger has managed to lift his squad, especially the likes of Alexis Sanchez, who seemed to push so hard at the exit door on deadline day.
Can Arsenal’s defence deal with Alvaro Morata’s aerial threat?
The problem with Aresnal’s crisis-hit start to the season is that the build-up to big games like this invariably centres around extra-curricular issues. The questions everyone wants answered aren’t about the Gunners’ formation, their ability to break down a stubborn Chelsea defence or even their own solidity at the back. Everyone wants to know about how they’ll deal with the off-field problems.
That means the game itself can get lost in the maelstrom. And, tactically, it will be an interesting one. How will Arsenal deal with Chelsea’s ability to counter-attack, especially after the Anfield debacle, and certainly after the Blues’ midweek thrashing of Qarabag?
But another battle to watch out for will be Chelsea’s Alvaro Morata. The Spanish striker was rested against the Azerbaijani side in the Champions League and has pitched in with three goals and two assists already in the Premier League. After only four games, that’s a wonderful return, even if his contribution has been slightly under the radar so far after a difficult first game against Arsenal in the Community Shield perhaps coloured many people’s opinion of him.
With three goals already, all of them coming from headers, Arsenal will have to be wary not just of counter-attacking threats but also balls into the box from wide areas, something Chelsea’s wing-backs seem very adept at providing.
Do Arsenal have real problems away from home?
And then there’s the elephant in the room, the fact that everyone’s talking about every other issue Arsenal might have under the sun except the one that’s staring them right in the face: the Gunners have won every game at home this season in all competitions. They’ve played three home games, accumulated three wins, and scored ten goals. But in two away games, they’ve suffered two defeats, conceded five and haven’t even scored themselves.
This game against Chelsea isn’t just a test for the Gunners in footballing terms, nor is it simply a test of their character to see if they can put setbacks behind them. It’s also about whether or not this is now a team with serious problems on the road on top of all their other issues.
Defeat would raise even more pressure and pile it on the shoulders of Arsene Wenger once again.