Three key battles as Chelsea prepare to take on Arsenal

With just a couple of months left in the 2025/26 season, it’s shaping up to be a thrilling end to the Premier League campaign. Arsenal find themselves on track to win their first Premier League title in 22 years, sitting five points above Manchester City, 10 above Aston Villa, and 16 above Chelsea (all of whom have a game in hand on them). Whilst Arsenal are gunning for the championship, Chelsea find themselves in a heated battle for the final UEFA Champions League spot.

Liam Rosenior’s side sit fourth in the table, level on points with Manchester United (who have a game in hand on them) and Liverpool, and after drawing back-to-back league matches to promoted sides Leeds and Burnley, they’ll be looking to get back to winning ways as they travel to Arsenal on Sunday. Today, we’re taking a look at three individual battles that could define the upcoming London derby.

1. Viktor Gyökeres vs. Trevoh Chalobah

Whereas Chelsea will have had eight days to prepare for this match, Arsenal will have had seven. The Blues found themselves cruising to victory against Burnley until Wesley Fofana got himself sent off in the 72nd minute, and 20 minutes later, Zian Flemming slotted home the equalizer. Rosenior will now have to configure a makeshift backline as he seeks to nullify an Arsenal side that has scored 2+ goals in four of their last five. With Marc Cucurella recovering from a hamstring issue, Malo Gusto should slot into left back ahead of Jorrel Hato, whilst Reece James will start on the right. And just ahead of Robert Sánchez in goal, Trevoh Chalobah should start in the middle alongside either Tosin Adarabioyo, Mamadou Sarr, and Josh Acheampong.

Merely 13 months after returning from his loan spell at Crystal Palace, Chalobah has proven essential in the heart of defense, helping the Blues win the UEFA Conference League and FIFA World Cup under Enzo Maresca. And with Levi Colwill missing the entire 2025/26 campaign with an ACL injury, Chalobah has continued his upward momentum and emerged as one of the few consistent highlights in the backline. Capable of holding his own in physical duels and putting out fires with a scrappy brand of defending, Chalobah will prove crucial as he looks to mitigate Viktor Gyökeres’ threat. After finishing as top scorer in Portugal in two straight seasons, Gyökeres has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League, but it seems he’s starting to find his footing with four goals in his last four league matches. And after grabbing a goal and an assist in his last meeting with Chelsea, he’ll be looking to continue his impressive form on Sunday.

2. Andrey Santos vs. Eberechi Eze

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: after demolishing North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 on the road, there’s little reason to believe that Mikel Arteta will change his line-up, especially with a full week to prepare. David Raya will start in between the sticks, Gabriel Magalhães will partner William Saliba in the middle of defense, whilst Jurriën Timber and Piero Hincapié are expected to continue at the fullback positions. Declan Rice and Martín Zubimendi will man the double pivot, Bukayo Saka will start on the right side of attack, Gyökeres will lead the line, whilst Eberechi Eze will likely get the start in the attacking midfield role ahead of captain Martin Ødegaard. The one incognito is at the left winger position, with Leandro Trossard likely to beat out Gabriel Martinelli.

On the other hand, Rosenior will likely continue the midfield trio that has defined the opening weeks of his tenure, with Enzo Fernández, Andrey Santos and Moisés Caicedo occupying the midfield. After diligently plying his trade on loan at Vasco da Gama, Nottingham Forest, and Strasbourg, Andrey has exploded onto the season this season for Chelsea and asserted himself as a vital presence in the middle. Having established himself as one of Ligue 1’s best midfielders under Rosenior, Andrey is now staking out a starting spot in West London thanks to his willingness to oscillate around the pitch and offer himself as a passing option. Not only is he enabling Chelsea to play out of pressure with his quick and seamless passes out of the box, he’s also enabling Caicedo and Fernández the freedom to push forward. Capable of putting in a sharp tackle and anticipating a counter-attack, Andrey has helped to add some solidity in midfield, and he’ll be looking to continue his uptick in form vs. Arsenal and keep Eze in check. Similarly to Gyökeres, Eze has encountered a tough start since leaving Crystal Palace for Arsenal, but with a brace of goals and a brace of assists in his last two starts, he could very well be set for a big performance against Chelsea.

3. João Pedro vs. Gabriel Magalhães

Moving onto the final third of the pitch, it is expected that Cole Palmer will occupy the right side of an attacking trio, having provided 4 goals and 1 assist in his last 3 appearances. On the left, Rosenior has his hands full as he looks to choose between Pedro Neto, who has bagged 4 goal contributions, Garnacho, who bagged a brace when these two sides met up last month, or a different player entirely, like Estêvão or Liam Delap. However, one thing’s for sure: João Pedro will be starting up top for Chelsea.

After seamlessly transitioning into Chelsea’s starting striker in the FIFA Club World Cup, João Pedro has been entrusted with the mission of being the Blues’ first-choice #9. He’s been able to shoulder the burden and deliver 14 goals and 8 assists in 36 appearances thus far, finding the back of the net in each of his last two appearances vs. Leeds and Burnley. At 24 years of age, the Brazilian striker is staking his status as a player for both the present and the future for Chelsea, and he’ll be looking to lead his team to victory at the weekend. But if he is to do so, he’ll need to get past arguably the finest central defensive duo in world football. Chelsea have not beaten Arsenal since August 2021, whilst they’ve lost in each of their last four trips to the Emirates Stadium, and Gabriel’s partnership with Saliba has been a massive reason behind that. If Chelsea are to spoil the league leaders’ party, they’ll need Pedro to be at his very best.