Chelsea are set to face Arsenal this weekend. The Blues have a terrible record against their London rivals in recent years. They have not won any of the last 10 meetings between the two sides across all competitions. And it has been five years since they tasted victory away from home in the Premier League.
Liam Rosenior will be hoping to bring an end to that run this weekend. He has already lost twice against Arsenal. He won’t be eager to extend that personal winless record either.
One man might have some insight into the Arsenal team, having spent more than half-a-decade with the club. It is someone most Chelsea fans won’t be familiar with though.
According to football.london, goalkeeper James Hillson has signed for Chelsea and it looks like he has been on the Blues’ books since the summer. He wrote on LinkedIn three weeks back: “Grateful to have signed with Chelsea FC and spent the season so far at this great club.
“After a tough last season, it’s been a real blessing to learn in such an environment, surrounded by high standards and good people. Looking forward to continuing to work hard and grafting until the end of the season.”
Former Arsenal man has joined Chelsea despite there being no official announcement
Hilson never made a senior appearance for Arsenal, despite being on their books for so many years. In fact, the 25-year-old has played first-team football for only Salisbury. That came in the National League South, which is the sixth tier of the English football pyramid.
So, it goes without saying that he is not part of the first-team plans at Chelsea. Instead, his role is on the training ground. That is perhaps the reason why there was no big announcement about signing a former Arsenal player.
Hilson not expected to be part of first-team plans
It is very likely that Hilson sees his future as a coach, rather than on the pitch. According to his LinkedIn profile, holds a UEFA B Coaching Licence.
Combine that with the kind of experience he got on the training pitch at Arsenal and is now getting at Chelsea, and that could be a solid foundation for the future. It might not be the glamorous path to top-level coaching, but it might prove to be effective nonetheless.
Coming back to the matter at hand. Chelsea’s focus has to be on getting a result against Arsenal. This is a game that could have implications for both the title race and the Champions League qualification race. Neither team will want to lose out. But the Blues might need the win a bit more than their London neighbours.
