Arsenal follow their North London derby victory over Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur with another derby, as they welcome Chelsea to the Emirates on Sunday.
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Mikel Arteta’s side bounced back from talk of a title ‘wobble’ in superb style, romping to a 4-1 victory away to Spurs in Igor Tudor’s first game. The gap to Manchester City could be back down to two points by the time Arsenal take to the pitch, making a positive result against Chelsea all the more imperative.
Liam Rosenior felt his side ‘set fire to four points’ after throwing away leads against Leeds and Burnley in their most recent games. Chelsea have slipped below Manchester United into fifth place as a result, and aside from the motivation of denting Arsenal’s title hopes, they need the points in the race for UEFA Champions League spots.
The two teams last met in the Carabao Cup semifinal, where Arsenal won 4-2 on aggregate in two closely-fought encounters.
Here’s everything you need to know about Sunday’s game.
How to watch:
The match will be shown on Sunday on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League in the UK, NBC/Peacock in the U.S., JioHotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details:
Kick-off time: Sunday, March 01 at 4:30 p.m. GMT (11:30 a.m. ET; 10 p.m. IST and 2:30 a.m. AEST, Monday).
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London.
Referee: Darren England
VAR: John Brooks
Injury and Team News:
Arsenal:
Max Dowman, M: OUT, ankle est. return early March
Mikel Merino, M: OUT, foot, est. return late May
Ben White, D: DOUBT, knock
Kai Havertz, F: DOUBT, muscle
Chelsea:
Reece James, D: knock, DOUBT
Jamie Gittens, F: muscle, OUT, est. return late March
Romeo Lavia, M: thigh, DOUBT, back in training
Dário Essugo, M: muscle, DOUBT, back in training
Marc Cucurella, D: hamstring, OUT, est. return mid March
Levi Colwill, D: ACL, OUT, est. return late April
Mykhailo Mudryk, F: suspended, OUT
Wesley Fofana, D: suspended, OUT
Filip Jørgensen, GK: knock, DOUBT
Estêvão, F: knock, DOUBT
Talking Points:Are Arsenal back on track in the title race?
A 4-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur increased Arsenal’s lead over Man City to five points, but it was the manner of the performance that eased fears over Arteta’s side potentially blowing their lead in the title race.
Arsenal were a wildly different outfit than the nervy team that gave up a two-goal lead to drop points against Wolves. Arteta’s side didn’t rest on their laurels once they took the lead and kept pushing for more goals — a stark difference to the defence-first approach they’ve employed in most games.
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Arsenal’s defence has been leaking goals of late, but a rare week’s rest could afford them the chance to recover from the mental and physical fatigue of a game every three days. Arteta’s side have built their title challenge on the back of a sound defence and set-piece prowess — both aspects of their game which have dipped in recent times.
Thus, the knowledge that they can employ free-flowing football when their usual approach doesn’t work ought to calm a few nerves ahead of the run-in. City are a side in top form however, and Arsenal know they have no margin for error anymore.
How will Liam Rosenior set up tactically?
Liam Rosenior was criticised for his approach in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semifinal against Arsenal. The Chelsea boss set up with a defensive structure despite needing a goal to equalise the tie, and consequently Arsenal capitalised late on with their opponents chasing the game.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice battles with Chelsea counterpart Moises Caicedo in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semifinal. Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
The 4-2 aggregate scoreline didn’t really reveal how close the tie was — the Emirates was nervy for much of the second leg and it was that atmosphere that Rosenior wanted to prey on psychologically. Yet, Chelsea are at their best when going forward, so Rosenior ought to perhaps balance his approach.
Wesley Fofana being suspended along with Reece James and Estêvão both being doubts could make the choice for Rosenior. Chelsea have generated the highest xG in the league (52.3) but have underperformed massively — with Rosenior hoping for a swing to the mean at the Emirates.
Arsenal have let in 44% of their goals in 2026 from individual errors (only Spurs are worse) so a more attacking approach from Chelsea could work.
Viktor Gyökeres faces a test of his momentum
With 15 goals for Arsenal in all competitions this season, Viktor Gyökeres has outperformed fellow summer signings Hugo Ekitike (14, Liverpool), João Pedro (14, Chelsea), Nick Woltemade (10, Newcastle United), Benjamin Sesko (eight, Manchester United) and Alexander Isak (three, Liverpool).
Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images
His display against Tottenham was comfortably his best in an Arsenal shirt, though Spurs’ defence did play into his hands. Able to physically bully Radu Dragusin, Gyökeres never let up, and after receiving quick passes to his feet from Martin Ødegaard and Jurriën Timber, the Swedish striker made merry.
Trevoh Chalobah and Tosin Adarabioyo are far better defenders than Dragusin and are unlikely to be physically bullied, so Gyökeres might not get as much change out of them. Kai Havertz has an outside chance to be fit right from the start and given his recent record against Chelsea (three goals in previous 191 mins), Arteta might be tempted to opt for a striker with more playmaking abilities and better hold-up play than Gyökeres.
Yet, Gyökeres is the one in red-hot form this year (10 goal contributions in 2026, once ever 85.8 mins / four goals in his last five games, once every 80 mins), so Arteta ought to keep faith with his Swedish striker.
Chelsea’s discipline and composure in spotlight ahead of tough run of fixtures
Chelsea have dropped 19 points from winning positions in the Premier League this year — only West Ham (20) are worse. While the squad’s youth is an obvious answer, so is Chelsea’s discipline. The club have now earned eight red cards this season, the most of any club in the Premier League.
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It doesn’t help that Chelsea are coming up against an opponent they frequently go down to 10 against (seven red cards against Arsenal, only worse against Liverpool with eight). Rosenior needs his squad to keep their composure, especially given the tough run of fixtures coming up.
Post-Arsenal, Chelsea face Aston Villa, Wrexham, PSG/Newcastle, Newcastle, PSG/Newcastle, Everton, Manchester City and Manchester United leading into mid April. It’s make or break for Chelsea at this point, and a defeat against the league leaders would only drop morale, whereas the opposite could herald the start of a season-defining run.
Arsenal hold the upper hand in recent history
Mikel Arteta has lost only two of sixteen games (10-4-2 W-D-L) against Chelsea in all competitions as Arsenal boss, with Liam Rosenior’s only two losses in 12 games so far (8-2-2 W-D-L) coming against the Premier League leaders.
Arsenal did draw 1-1 against ten-man Chelsea in the reverse fixture earlier this season, but have won their three most recent home games against Chelsea. Arteta’s side are also unbeaten in their last eight games against Chelsea, Arsenal’s best run against their London rivals since a spell of 19 undefeated games between 1995 and 2005.
The law of averages would point to a positive Chelsea result, and Rosenior has certainly shown that he can go toe-to-toe with Arteta, but Chelsea will need to up their game if they are to earn a first win in nine over Arsenal.