November 27th, 2009 by Phil Lythell

On Sunday at The Emirates Stadium, the two best teams in England will clash in a London derby of added significance when Arsenal play Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Arsenal seem to have some added steel about them this season which has come from within rather than purchased in the transfer market. The average age of the squad is ludicrously low – they have only three players over 30 years of age in their entire first team squad – yet it looks like they are finally growing up.

Manager Arsene Wenger has been chided by some parties for overseeing a team that has appeared to be continually in transition for the last three years.

The biggest area of concern was the middle of the pitch, primarily when stripped of possession, and while Cesc Fabregas is almost the complete midfield player even he needs a little help. The rise to prominence of Alex Song, the all-round ability of Denilson and Wenger’s switch to a three man midfield has seemingly corrected this imbalance.

The arrival of Thomas Vermaelen, has reinforced another traditionally weak area of the Arsenal squad, – central defence. The Belgian has struck up an immediate rapport with the talented but turbulent William Gallas who, allegedly, was the catalyst behind Kolo Toure’s fall from grace in north London.

But he will be examined most thoroughly on Sunday when he comes up against the bulldozing Didier Drogba. The Chelsea striker has a fantastic goalscoring record against Arsenal having netted eight times in nine starts against them including the winner in last season’s FA Cup semi-final.

As with the majority of games at this level though the match will be won and lost in midfield and this is where the intrigue really lies. The new Chelsea formula is more exhilarating than that of previous regimes but is still based on keeping things tight.

Arsenal may have got tougher in that area but they can still outpass most teams in Europe; Ancelotti will be keen that his team are not outnumbered in this crucial part of the field.

The Italian might be able to call on the services of Frank Lampard after his thigh injury healed sooner than expected.

Lampard’s return will add even more physicality to an already imposing Chelsea midfield which is certain to feature Michael Ballack and Michael Essien in enforcing roles.

If Arsenal do manage to gain the edge in this department then they will then have the unenviable task of breaching Chelsea’s formidable back line.

With just ten goals conceded in 20 matches in all competitions this season – and just two in their last eight – Arsenal may well rue the injury to in-form Robin Van Persie who was injured on international duty with Holland.

If there is one area that Arsenal can exploit it is Chelsea’s right side of defence. Branislav Ivanovic is a solid defender but he lacks the pace of Jose Bosingwa and can be outflanked with a clever pass or a cunning touch. Andrei Arshavin will no doubt be primed by his manager to run at him on a regular basis.

Chelsea will simply be looking to play their powerful passing game, hoping their physical presence helps to dominate in midfield. In Drogba and Anelka, Chelsea have the best strike-force in the Premier League and any slip in the Arsenal rearguard will be punished like it was when Chelsea emerged from the Emirates Stadium with a 4-1 victory on their last visit in May.

A similar scoreline is out of the question but a Chelsea win would put them 11 points clear of their London rivals and almost out of sight.

The clever money should go on a keenly fought draw but with two such talented teams it really could go either way.

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