Arsenal host Chelsea, looking to maintain lead in EPL

London – Arsenal’s pursuit of a first Premier League crown in 22 years faces its next hurdle on Sunday when Chelsea arrive at the Emirates, hoping to derail the leaders’ momentum and continue their own resurgence under new boss Liam Rosenior.

The Gunners go into the weekend five points clear of Manchester City after a swaggering 4-1 triumph at Tottenham last Sunday, a victory built on two goals apiece from Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyokeres. The Swede’s double took him to 10 league goals in his debut English season, five of them arriving in his last five appearances.

“When you score the first one, the performance is good, you have more time with your teammates, you understand the games, the opponents, the league better, everything helps,” manager Mikel Arteta said of Gyokeres’ rapid adaptation.

The derby win extended Arsenal’s winning streak to five and stretched their unbeaten run to eight. Against Chelsea specifically, the north Londoners have not lost in 10 outings, winning seven of them, including both legs of November and January’s EFL Cup semifinal.

Yet Chelsea, fifth on 45 points, arrive in confident mood. Since Rosenior replaced Enzo Maresca, the Blues have collected eight wins and two draws from 12 matches in all competitions, with only those cup defeats to Arsenal blotting their copybook. In league play, 14 points from six fixtures represents title-winning form extrapolated across a full campaign.

“We’ve won eight out of 12, it should be 10 out of 12. That’s not bad,” Rosenior said. “The Premier League is so difficult every week. Every week, the challenges that you face, the different tactical problems that you have, the physicality of the league, I don’t judge one game as harder than the other.”

Chelsea remain three points behind fourth-placed Manchester United in the scramble for next season’s final Champions League berth, and a daunting schedule awaits: after Arsenal, they must tackle Aston Villa, Newcastle and a Champions League round-of-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain.

Rosenior confirmed captain Reece James will be available after a minor injury sustained in last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Burnley, boosting options for a fixture that could shape both clubs’ seasons.

Arsenal, 18-3-7 and on 61 points, know another victory keeps destiny in their hands; Chelsea, improved and emboldened, sense an opportunity to scramble the narrative at the top.