Chelsea vs Arsenal: Title contender? Key match in the Premier League

Is Chelsea a Real Contender for the Premier League Title?

The question, which was barely being asked at the beginning of the month, could have an affirmative answer this Sunday. After an investment of nearly 1.5 billion pounds in new players since the acquisition by Todd Boehly and Clearlake in May 2022, Chelsea could be on the verge of proving their worth in the fight for the title.

Was Enzo Maresca’s young team, despite their victory in the FIFA Club World Cup, ready to face Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City this season?

If Chelsea beats Arsenal at Stamford Bridge this Sunday, their title credentials will no longer be questioned.

• Estêvão drives Chelsea to prove their world champion tag.
• Is Arsenal the best in Europe? Victory over Bayern suggests it.

Despite Arsenal’s dominant season so far, leading both the Premier League and the Champions League group stage, the Gunners’ six-point lead could be halved this weekend if they lose to Chelsea. City, third in the table, could also close the gap if they defeat Leeds United at the Etihad on Saturday. The City remains a threat, even with its own inconsistencies that could derail Pep Guardiola’s team. As long as Erling Haaland stays fit and at a prolific goal-scoring level, City is capable of fighting for a fifth title in six seasons. Arteta and his players know from their own experience that Guardiola’s men have a habit of comebacks at the end of the season. Chelsea is an unknown quantity under Maresca, although they showed by defeating Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup final that they are capable of defying expectations and beating the best. They are unpredictable and inconsistent, full of young stars with supreme talent but little experience, like Estêvão and Alejandro Garnacho, and they are on a roll, which makes them a dangerous proposition for Arsenal on Sunday. Arsenal is formidable and strong, a team whose lack of brilliance and spontaneity is compensated by its ability to capitalize on set pieces with goals from free kicks and corners. But they do not possess the freedom and the X factor that have propelled Chelsea to the fight for the title. The Blues are everything Arsenal is not, both in the positive and the negative, so Sunday is a clash of styles and philosophies, and the result will tell us where the title is heading. After losing 2-1 at home to Sunderland on October 25, Chelsea dropped to eighth place in the Premier League. It was their third defeat in nine league games, and the deficiencies that have plagued Chelsea since the 2022 acquisition (too many changes, too much youth, not enough experience) contributed to their inconsistent start to the season. But that defeat to Sunderland now seems like a stumble in a more impressive run of only one defeat in 11 matches in all competitions, a sequence of matches played without the injured Cole Palmer, in which Chelsea scored 27 goals and recorded six clean sheets. It’s a run that also includes victories against Liverpool and Barcelona.

The initial concerns this season about Chelsea’s defense and goalkeeper have dissipated, the midfield axis of Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández is now consistently performing as one of the best in Europe, while Pedro Neto has also been a key player in midfield, and the 18-year-old sensation Estêvão is suggesting he could become another teenage star on the world stage. Aside from the lack of experience in winning titles in a team whose oldest players are goalkeeper Robert Sánchez and defender Tosin Adarabioyo (both 28 years old), the reasons for not supporting Chelsea in the title fight are fading.

An obvious area that needs improvement is the number of goals Chelsea gets from its forwards, with center forward João Pedro tied with Fernández and Neto with four goals as the team’s top scorer in the league. It’s rare for any team to win a title without a forward scoring 20 goals in a season, and no one at Chelsea is getting close to reaching that target at this stage. But the other side of the coin is that goals are being scored from all departments, and Chelsea’s total of 23 goals in the Premier League so far this season is only surpassed by Arsenal and City (both with 24). And in defense, only Arsenal (six goals conceded) and City (10) have better defensive records than Chelsea (11) to date, so Maresca’s team enters the match against Arsenal as a real title contender for Arteta’s team. However, Sunday is about more than just the final result. The result will define the mindset of both teams for the rest of the title race. If Arsenal wins, they will move nine points ahead of Chelsea and issue a true statement of intent. But a Chelsea victory would open up the title race wide and instill in Maresca’s young team the belief and confidence that they can go all the way, while injecting doubt and fear into the Arsenal ranks. Although Arsenal will always consider their neighbor Tottenham Hotspur as their traditional local rival, Chelsea has become the London team that has surpassed them in everything and has demonstrated the ruthless winning mentality that has eluded the Gunners in recent years. Since Arsenal’s last title success in the 2003-04 season, Chelsea has won five Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues. They have mastered the art of staying calm and winning. If Chelsea wins again on Sunday, they will be the team to watch, and it will be Arsenal’s turn to keep calm.