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Chelsea vs Arsenal: Theo Walcott could expose Chelsea's defence at Stamford Bridge

FANS' VIEW: Supporters of the sides involved at Stamford Bridge this weekend offer their thoughts

Friday 18 September 2015 16:28 BST

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Ahead of the Premier League meeting between Chelsea and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge this weekend, we caught up with a couple of fans for their take on the match...

Chelsea Fan - Kavan Flavius

We got our first home win of the season on Wednesday against Maccabi Tel-Aviv in the Champions League and we can carry that momentum into Saturday’s game against Arsenal. Hopefully they will still be coming to terms with their surprise loss to Dinamo Zagreb.

Chelsea really need to string a few wins together though and with both right wingers Willian and Pedro ruled out its going to be difficult. On the bright side, Oscar is back in the team and played well on Wednesday night and he could be the key player on Saturday.

Mourinho will try his utmost to ensure that Wenger doesn’t beat him again, having already lost out to the Frenchman in the Community Shield, but I believe that given our start to the season the points will be shared. I’m going for 2-2.

The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

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1/11The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

GK: Asmir Begovic

Irony alert. Petr Cech finally quit Chelsea after 10 years because he wanted first-team football - his replacement, Thibaut Courtois, promptly goes and gets injured for around three months. Begovic is as good as a back-up as you'll find in the Premier League and would be a regular starter for at least 10 other teams in the division.

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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

RB: Cesar Azpilicueta

If Branislav Ivanovic was even playing at a Championship level then he would be in the team, but the Serbian would not get into a League One side at the moment. He's been an absolute liability both defensively and had no impact as an attacker, where he has been so reliable. Cesar Azpilicueta is a stout defender and has the pace and energy to cover the entire right-hand side - that will be key with Chelsea short on wingers for this match.

The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

CB: Kurt Zouma

Zouma has the pace to deal with Theo Walcott and the strength to deal with Olivier Giroud. As Everton found out last week he is far from the finished article and can be found out with clever movement. But he played better than Gary Cahill in midweek and should retain his place.

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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

CB: John Terry

Despite his half-time benching against Manchester City, the Chelsea captain has not done much wrong at all this season, but has been badly let down by those playing in front and around him. Father time eventually catches up with everyone, but his organisation and desire mean he should play - besides, Gary Cahill is still not at his level.

Reuters

The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

LB: Baba Rahman

Azpilicueta moving over to the right gives Baba Rahman a chance to make the left-back position his own. His added pace and natural left-foot give him an obvious advantage over the Spaniard - who often cuts inside and slows attacks - where he can overlap Eden Hazard to give Chelsea an extra dimension. But, and it's a big but, the young Ghanaian struggled defensively against Maccabi, and was way too often caught high up the pitch and out of position. Chelsea will be ruthlessly punished if he does that against Arsenal. A more disciplined performance is needed.

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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

CM: Nemanja Matic

His dramatic collapse this season has been just as quick as his meteoric rise to the very top last season, where he overtook Yaya Toure as the best midfielder in the league. Has looked tired, mentally and physically, this season. Got a rest in midweek and knows he must be at his best to combat whatever midfield Arsene Wenger elects to pick. Huge game for Matic, he will be key.

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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

CM: Cesc Fabregas

It was a surprise to see him play against Maccabi but it was just the tonic the Spaniard needed. His fingerprints were all over the game in a dominant individual performance that brought a goal and an assist and some impressive probing play. Still Chelsea's main creator, Fabregas and Blues fans need to hope his performance translates against a much better class of opponent.

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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

RW: Pedro

If he's anywhere close to being fit then he has to play - Chelsea just don't have the options in their paper-thin squad. The extremely limited Ramires or the raw Ruben Loftus-Cheek will be the next choices if Pedro misses out, as Willian is out and numerous others out on loan. The Barcelona man started quickly but wasn't at his best against Everton. Still a quality option, however.

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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

AM: Oscar

Two goals in two starts this season, Oscar's work rate and willingness to defend have made him a Mourinho favourite over the last two years, although that slipped in the second half of last season when the Brazilian badly lost form. The jury is still out on Oscar, who needs to add more flair and creativity to his pretty decent goal record. Has to have a big performance on Saturday.

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The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

LW: Eden Hazard

Not in the team by merit. Last season's Player of the Year looks unfit and (whisper it) a bit uninterested. The Maccabi game should have been a chance for him to find some form, like it was for Fabregas, but Hazard wasn't close to his best, with the early penalty miss knocking his confidence. The weight of burden appears to be hanging heavy on his shoulders, as is the constant double teaming and aggressive treatment he faces from opponents. But it would be far too big a risk to leave him out - plus Chelsea just don't have the options with Willian and maybe Pedro missing. If he doesn't perform then he should expect a spell out of the team.

Reuters

The XI Chelsea should play against Arsenal

ST: Diego Costa

If Mourinho can tell him to stop trying to fight every defender in the land and actually concentrate on his football, he'll have a hell of a striker on his hands. Provided two moments of inspiration against Maccabi, showing quick feet and a turn of pace to win the second penalty, and a telepathic connection - and sublime technique - to volley in a Cesc Fabregas pass. Needs to find his goal scoring form quick for Chelsea to claw their way back into contention. Loic Remy did ok in midweek, but unfortunately was forced to play wide after just 20 minutes because of injury to Willian.

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Arsenal Fan - Lewis Potton

After watching Arsenal perform dismally against Dinamo Zagreb in midweek, it has made me really fearful about the weekend trip to Stamford Bridge. Despite our strong win against Stoke last week and Arsene Wenger resting a few key players for the Zagreb game, the likes of Giroud, Cazorla, Arteta and Oxlade-Chamberlain were really poor in Croatia. The passing was far too slow from the outset, and defensively we looked far too open. An openness that Chelsea will exploit.

Despite Chelsea's own poor league form, I expect them to be right on their game against us. They won 4-0 in midweek and there is no way Mourinho will allow them to repeat their Manchester City debacle from a few weeks ago.

I’m convinced that Theo Walcott will be the key man for us as Chelsea have really struggled against pace in behind their back four this season. A draw at the Bridge would be an amazing result, so I optimistically predict a scoreline of 1-1.

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