Ahead of the London Derby on Saturday, we spoke to Read Arsenal editor, Adam Hamdani. We asked Adam about his thoughts ahead of the game and how he predicts the game to pan.
We’ll start with Arsenal, how have the Gunners started the season?
Very Arsenal-y, for lack of a better phrase. It’s been very mixed, three wins out of five Premier League games is very positive, but the nature of every result thus far has been interesting. The loss to West Ham was really quite poor, the performance put in was just not what you’d have expected from a side who should have been raring to begin the campaign at home, but it seemed a blip after the dominant performance at Selhurst Park where the Gunners had the luck of an own goal to help pick up the three points.
Moving on to the Liverpool game, the first half was shocking, but the important thing is that they didn’t concede in those tough moments, which shows a new, almost Sir Alex Ferguson under Manchester United-like grit and determination – especially with an unfamiliar pairing in the centre of the defence, but the second half was much improved and Petr Cech really came into his own to show he was worth the money (in case people needed it proving).
The Newcastle game was a weird one, the early sending off to Mitrovic made it difficult because the home side became so defensive, but it was another good win, thanks to an own goal again.
Stoke at the Emirates was really good, a dominant but largely frustrating performance due to Jack Butland’s unbelievable showing, he was so good on the day. Arsenal were patient though and the early goal came through Theo Walcott, which was really well worked and started from the fantastic tackle made by Francis Coquelin.
Let’s not speak too much about the UEFA Champions League game against Dinamo Zagreb – it was very disappointing and the Gunners were not that bad, it wasn’t a case of underestimating the opponents, it was just the fact that the full-back pairing of Mathieu Debuchy and Kieran Gibbs was clearly rusty and in need of game time, because both goals came largely through their fault and allowing way too much space to the Zagreb players.
You made one major signing this summer who we all know about, how has Petr Cech settled in at Arsenal?
Fantastically, he famously struggled on his debut against West Ham, were both goals were arguably his fault, but he has impressed since then and his best performance was definitely against Liverpool, he was match-winning and exactly what the club needs at this point. Thanks for selling him to us!
He’s going to be one of the main talking points of the game, what reception do you see him getting at the Bridge?
If it’s anything less than standing ovations I’ll be very, very surprised. He left the club on good terms, a club legend who won so much and he wanted first team football, completely understandable. If he doesn’t get a good reception it’ll be shocking.
Chelsea are certainly not in a good place in the league at the moment, from an Arsenal fans view, where do you think it has gone wrong?
Defensively Chelsea just haven’t been at the races. In fairness to Gary Cahill, all the talk about John Stones incoming can’t have done his confidence any good and maybe John Terry is beginning to show his age after playing for so long at the top level – the same goes for Branislav Ivanovic, who looks to have slightly lost his pace and ability to read the game so well.
Another factor is that Chelsea are so reliant on Nemanja Matic and his performances being consistently solid, so if he has a bad game then it seems as though Chelsea do. Diego Costa hasn’t really fired yet this season, nor has Eden Hazard and Cesc Fabregas just looks too slow (I’m not a bitter fan when it comes to the Spaniard) to control a game, he takes too long and is yet to settle back into the form he had at the beginning of last season.
I’m confident that Chelsea will come strong again, the players and manager are way too good not to – just hopefully not this Saturday.
Who will be Chelsea’s biggest threat from Arsenal on Saturday?
Theo Walcott. The obvious ones are Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla, but the latter two will be looking for Walcott all day to run in behind the likes of John Terry and if they find him, he’ll more than likely take his chances in front of goal. Theo has a pretty decent record against Chelsea, so from their perspective he’s who I’d look out for.
Who will you be watching closely from Chelsea’s starting XI?
Without a doubt, Eden Hazard. Hector Bellerin really, really struggled against Philippe Coutinho earlier in the season and the Belgian will likely give him an even more difficult time, his close control and ability to drive at defenders is amongst the best in the world, so he worries me.
The battle between Gabriel Paulista and Diego Costa is going to be really exciting, because the Brazilian looks as much a fighter as Costa and won’t stand for anything, so the battle between the two will be interesting.
Can we get your score and goal scorers predictions?
Ah, I hate to predict Arsenal scorelines, but I’ll be optimistic and despite our poor record against Chelsea, I think it’ll turn out to be a 2-2 draw, with goals coming through Hazard, Walcott, Oscar if he starts and Aaron Ramsey.
