Chelsea got off to the ideal start under Maurizio Sarri last weekend, as the Blues secured a comfortable victory against Huddersfield Town.
A stern test awaits in the Premier League this weekend though as Sarri’s side welcome Arsenal, under the guidance of new boss Unai Emery, across the capital to Stamford Bridge in the Blues’ first home game of the campaign.
Arsenal suffered defeat to defending champions Manchester City on the opening weekend and their quest for a victory against Chelsea will prove to be difficult, as the Blues have not lost this Premier League fixture on home soil since 2011.
As such, former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson believes Chelsea will again emerge victorious in Saturday’s clash as he predicted a 2-0 win. Writing his weekly predictions for the BBC, he said:
“Arsenal coach Unai Emery is going to need a lot of time to work out the Premier League and work out his best team.
“Emery tried to use Petr Cech to play out from the back against Manchester City and it did not work – he did not look comfortable. You are not going to change a 36-year-old goalkeeper’s game in that way, so I wonder if summer signing Bernd Leno will come in on Saturday.
“While the Gunners struggled against Manchester City, Chelsea were comfortable winners against Huddersfield, which was a great start for them. This is an important game for both teams, just for the fact that, if Chelsea win, they will go six points ahead of Arsenal in the race for the top four.”
