Premier League Preview – Arsenal vs Chelsea, Saturday 19th January 2019

Can Arsenal cut their top 4 deficit with a win over Chelsea on Saturday evening?

After that long unbeaten run had everyone celebrating the new Emery era, the Gunners have lost their bang. Since mid-December’s unbeaten streak-ending loss against the relegation-flirting Southampton, Arsenal have struggled to stitch together more than a couple of wins at a time.

Sizeable victories over lesser competition – 3-1 and 4-1 victories over Burnley and Fulham at the Emirates, and a 3-0 FA Cup saunter at Blackpool – have come alongside a draw at Brighton, and humiliating losses against Liverpool, Tottenham (in the EFL Cup) and, last weekend, West Ham.

One thing that hasn’t changed too much, thankfully, is Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He remains far and away Arsenal’s lead goalscorer, joint top in the Premier League with 14 goals (and an additional 2 in Europe). That leaves the Gabon international with a Super Mega PGM of 32-38, against Alexandre Lacazette’s 25-30 and Edward Nketiah’s 17-21.

Though Chelsea went through their own rough patch between late November and December, they seem to be out of it now (in large part thanks to a rather kind fixtures list). Boxing Day saw a 2-1 win at Watford, with a 2018-ending 1-0 victory at Crystal Palace followed by a 2019-opening goalless draw against Southampton and a surprisingly hard-fought win at Newcastle.

Outside of the league, meanwhile, they’ve had mixed fortunes, beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the FA Cup, before losing their EFL Cup semi-final 1st leg 1-0 at Tottenham.

The Blues currently find themselves in something of an upfront limbo. Alvaro Morata is expected to make his way to Atletico Madrid, with Juventus’ Gonzalo Higuain, at the moment on loan at AC Milan, set to journey to London. Neither will appear on Saturday, however, leaving Eden Hazard, who sits at a Super Mega PGM of 33-39, to pick up the slack once again.

With 6 points separating the 2, and a need to prove their mettle against the league’s top sides, the hosts could really do with a result on Saturday. Spreadex are offering a Chelsea/Arsenal (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.1-0.3 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.85-3.05.