CHELSEA had a transfer deadline day to forget when they failed to land a replacement for Enzo Fernandez – and now Arsenal could heap more misery on them.
The Gunners continued the strong start to their Premier League title defence by bagging three points at Aston Villa earlier this week.
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And Arsenal are set to lock horns with Chelsea, who maintained their 100 per cent winning record by beating Brighton in a seven-goal thriller, at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
But the Blues’ preparations for the London derby have not gone to plan thanks to coming up short in the transfer market.
A big-money move for Lamine Camara fell through on deadline day, leaving Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso short of midfield options following Fernandez’s exit.
And Arsenal will be looking to exploit that as they aim to prove why they were crowned Premier League champions last season.
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Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard are two of the most clever players in the Premier League.
They are also very experienced when it comes to playing against teams with a low block because they have been doing it for years.
I think Havertz will drift over to the outside centre-backs, rather than staying with the defender at the heart of the backline.
The former Chelsea striker will then make Levi Colwill, for example, a frozen man.
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Havertz is freezing him in that position because you’re not going to see another centre-back come across and double up on him due to the space that would leave behind.
Arsenal could create overloads if Havertz holds his position, allowing Odegaard to make dangerous underlapping runs.
The Gunners love forming triangles in wide positions and they will use that to try and create chances.
In the opposite direction, Chelsea have got a new-look attack with Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and £117million summer signing Morgan Rogers.
Blues chief Xabi Alonso has been telling his players to go direct to them so Arsenal will have to change how they have been playing in the opening weeks of the season.
Otherwise Gunners boss Mikel Arteta will have nightmares with Palmer and Rogers having pockets of space to run into.
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If they make runs beyond the backline, Pedro could then be left one-v-one against a midfielder who has been forced to drop back between the two central defenders.
But Arteta will have Declan Rice and Myles Lewis-Skelly – if selected – staying with Palmer and Rogers to stop that happening.
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Ben White, should he start at right-back, will also shift across to provide extra cover in defence and stop counter-attacks.
When Chelsea are in possession, Arsenal are expected to become very compact and plug any gaps through the middle to stop any danger men having space.