Chelsea would want to get even with rivals Arsenal when they face off in the Community Shield on Sunday. While both approach the game with respective injuries in their camp, Chelsea are expected to have better players on their side who can get the better of Arsenal on the big day.
Here are 3 Chelsea players who will be crucial against arsenal-
Willian- The Brazilian has been knocking on the door of Antonio Conte for long now with the Italian manager mostly using him as an impact player in the second half. His trickery and quick turns up front was a huge threat to Arsenal in their preseason game in China. He even opened the scoring when a mistimed tackle from Per Mertesacker left him quite open in front of the goal. Though Arsenal are expected to be more prepared this time, Willian will surely be a big threat up front.
He will be pitted against Arsenal’s experienced Nacho Monreal, who reads the game pretty well but doesn’t possess the same recovery pace. Either Sead Kolasinac or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should take the right wing, which will make it tough for the Brazilian to cope with.
Michy Batshuayi- After lengthy spells of quietness in the Blues’ squad last season, Antonio Conte had finally handed him first team chances at the end. And the Belgian international has hardly failed to impress since then. He continued his goal scoring knack in the pre-season too as it was his brace that shut out Arsenal. He has shown his dexterity with his left foot sending two crackers at the back of the net.
We hope he gets the nod ahead of Alvaro Morata, who would definitely need time adjusting to the league coming from comparatively less physical leagues in Spain and Italy. Though Batshuayi lacks the height and strength that Morata could provide and Diego Costa did provide, he will rely more on the pace that would need Koscielny to remain on his toes all the time.
David Luiz- He didn’t get his tactics spot on the last time as Alexis Sanchez and Aaron Ramsey had slotted in two in the FA Cup final. However, the big defender should be apt to cover Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud in the aerial duels as well as putting pressure to thwart the Frenchman’s supporting role for the team. Luiz, nonetheless, lacks pace and if Arsenal decide to start with either Alexandre Lacazette and Danny Welbeck for change, Luiz can be caught off guard.
However, his leadership and game reading abilities have been tremendous and Conte would hope he remains on par with Arsenal’s Koscielny who compensates well for his lack of pace via intelligent defending.
