Arsenal vs Chelsea

A great result for us at the weekend as we bet on Chelsea to take all three points at the Emirates. They duly obliged by winning 4-1 as Arsenal’s recent form goes from bad to worse.

The manner of defeats suffered by Chelsea and Arsenal in their respective Champions League semi-finals this week could hardly have been greater. The pair meet in the Premier League this Sunday with third place seemingly the prize and I’m desperate to take on the Gunners.

While talk of conspiracy theories still fly around Stamford Bridge following their exit at the hands of Barcelona, Arsenal’s wounds might take that bit longer to heal after their mauling by Manchester United. It’s debatable whether the gap between the North London club and the rest of the elite has ever been so wide and they looked like a team on Tuesday, as the minutes ticked down, already looking forward to the end of the campaign.

Talk of a complete overhaul, including the manager, in North London is wide of the mark but surely the likes of Djourou, Eboue, Bendtner and the increasingly frustrating Emmanuel Adebayor need to be sent on their way. Arsenal’s first eleven is good enough to compete, but Arsene Wenger needs to add quality beyond his top guns if they are to challenge for honours again and the same might be said of Chelsea.

A glance at the Manchester United bench on Wednesday and you would have seen Berbatov, Tevez, Giggs and Scholes waiting in the wings but despite Roman Abramovich’s billions Guus Hiddink has nowhere near as much firepower to call upon. That said, the Dutchman and his troops will surely have a point to prove on Sunday and the sense of injustice that is bound to linger into Sunday’s match could well spur them on to three points.

While Chelsea saw very little of the ball against Barcelona over the two legs you couldn’t fail to have been impressed with their organisation and discipline (tactically, of course, their behaviour after the final whistle was a disgrace) and I take them to prove too strong for the home side. Chelsea are better equipped in just about every department and I can see Lampard, Ballack and Essien overrunning a flimsy looking Arsenal midfield. Chelsea’s midfield have typically done extremely well against Sunday’s opponents down the years.

I initially wanted to simply oppose Arsenal but the price about an away win is just too big and I take Chelsea to prevail in what could well be a fiery encounter. There is no love lost between the pair, think back to the 22 man brawl at the Carling Cup final in 2007, and events in midweek could make for an interesting afternoon. Also grab anything above 4.00 when the markets form about a player seeing red.