After suffering a defeat against Brentford on the season’s opening day, the Gunners go up against arch-rivals Chelsea at the Emirates this Sunday. The London derby now becomes even more important for Arsenal as they play in front of their home crowd at the Emirates, and they will be looking to get their season back on track. The fans received a sigh of relief and some hope after Arsenal announced the signing of Martin Odegaard from Real Madrid and are working to complete the signing of Aaron Ramsdale as well, but nothing will be sweeter than beating Chelsea at the Emirates. As of now, the odds are heavily stacked against Arsenal, as Chelsea go into the game as favourites to win this game.
The Champions League winners have moreover added Romelu Lukaku to strengthen their already highly competitive squad. The striker is reportedly set to make his debut against the Gunners on Sunday. Arsenal on the other hand will miss some senior and important players with four players suspected to have contracted with Covid-19. The absence of both forwards, Aubameyang and Lacazette was missed as they lost to Brentford, but when one door closes, another opens.
Who will play as a striker for the Gunners against Chelsea?
18-year-old Balogun made his debut against Brentford, but looked far from good as he struggled a bit upfront. The lack of experience and finishing is what cost the Gunners their first defeat, as they failed to score even a single goal. Highly-rated youngster, Gabriel Martinelli also started for Arsenal but played on the left wing. It is reported that Martinelli is set to start as a striker against Chelsea on Sunday as he was seen playing as a center-forward in training. While Martinelli will start up front, Balogun will miss out and Bukayo Saka will replace him to start as the left-winger.
As Lacazette, Aubameyang, and Nketiah are out of contention to start against Chelsea, all eyes point towards Gabriel Martinelli to play as the striker. Gaffer Mikel Arteta will be providing the Brazilian a huge opportunity by doing so and he will be looking to grab it with both hands.
