Key events
Team news: Konsa starts, James returns
Ezri Konsa makes his first start for Arsenal, replacing the injured Cristhian Mosquera in defence. That’s the only change from Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Aston Villa on Monday. Bruno Guimaraes is fit enough to join a frighteningly strong bench.
Chelsea bring in Josh Acheampong and Reece James for Levi Colwill and Malo Gusto.
Arsenal (4-3-3) Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Odegaard, Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Havertz, Tzolis.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Merino, Guimaraes, Eze, Madueke, Dowman, Gyokeres.
Chelsea (3-4-2-1) Martinez; Acheampong, Fofana, Lacroix; Neto, James, Lavia, Hato; Palmer, Rogers; Joao Pedro.
Subs: Penders, Colwill, Gusto, Chavvaria, Barco, Quenda, Gittens, Estevao, Welbeck.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
Jonathan Wilson
Control v chaos. On the one hand, the forces of order, regimented, playing in precise patterns and, on the other, something darker, more visceral, a method that acknowledges the imperfection of the human soul, the unknowability of football in all its randomness; better, that second way says, to attempt to ride the fury than to believe it might be harnessed.
When it began, a decade ago, that’s how the Pep Guardiola v Jürgen Klopp rivalry appeared. Apollo v Dionysius. Two fundamentally opposed ways of seeing the world. But in time, the two crept towards each other. Klopp moved away from the heavy metal of his Borussia Dortmund years to something more conservative. Guardiola experimented in multiple directions, slowly abandoning the possession-oriented idealism of his past to something less radical but also less predictable.
The temptation, after the first two weeks of the season, is to cast Mikel Arteta and Xabi Alonso in a similar light. Arsenal are yet to concede a goal. They dominated the Community Shield from the first minute, beat a shambolic Manchester City 3-0 and gave the sense that they could easily have won more comprehensively had they been minded to do so. They were no more troubled in beating Coventry by the same scoreline in their opening league game and, while they were rather less dominant, they were still extremely comfortable against Aston Villa on Monday and had been slowly increasing the pressure when Bukayo Saka gave them the lead just before the hour.
Half time: Everton 0-0 Man Utd
It’s goalless in the early Premier League game at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Here’s how the great Tim de Lisle summarised the first half:
No goals, no thrills, but an absorbing encounter. It ought to be 1-1: Cunha should have scored for United and Barry for Everton, only for both attempts to go over the bar when it looked easier to get them on target.
On xG, there’s not a lot to separate the teams. Everton 0.34-0.32 United. The United forward line has been the more imposing of the two, but James Garner, who captained their Under-21s before being brainlessly sold to Everton, has been the main man in midfield. And Jarrod Branthwaite, who was coveted by United a couple of summers ago, has been immense in defence.
Preamble
So here we are: mooching about on Sunday afternoon*, waiting for the first really B.I.G. game of the Premier League season. It’s Arsenal v Chelsea at the Emirates – champions and favourites v dark horses; the best defence in England v potentially the best attack.
Arsenal have started the season with intimidating voracity. They battered Manchester City in the Community Shield, then took care of Coventry and Aston Villa without conceding a goal. They barely conceded a shot on target.
Chelsea beat Fulham 3-2 and Brighton 4-3, with an average of 30 per cent possession across the two games. Today’s match should tell us whether that approach is sustainable, because if it works at the Emirates it can work anywhere. Right now, for any aspirational English side – and Chelsea are most certainly that – Arsenal away is the ultimate test.
Kick off 4.30pm.
* Other time zones are available.
Leave a Reply