Arsenal never lost to Chelsea in Drogba’s absence

Arsenal had a shaky start to the season but their recent performances suggest, they’re on their way back to the top four and what better way is there to stamp the return by beating arch rivals Chelsea at Stamford bridge this weekend.

The Gunners are marching up the table and they would like to make it five wins on the trot in all competitions by beating a Chelsea side without Didier Drogba – he will miss this match due to suspension.

Drogba has scored 13 goals in 14 appearances against Arsenal in all competitions and their record against Chelsea with him playing is W1 D3 L10.

However when he has not played Arsenal have won two, drawn one and lost none!

That’s a very interesting stat and makes the 6 on offer with Betfred and Victor Chandler about a victory for Arsene Wenger’s boys look a very tempting punt – especially given the current form of one Robin van Persie.

The Dutch striker is simply too hot handle at the moment and has now scored an incredible 25 goals in 26 Premier League appearances in 2011.

He also scored two when the Gunners last won away at Chelsea back in November 2008, and given his current form there must be a good chance of history repeating itself.

I am not suggesting that he is a “good thing” to score two, but if Arsenal are to win this then he is the one most likely to inspire them and at 3.3 with Boylesports to score anytime during the 90 minutes he looks overpriced and a great bet.

In what looks sure to be a very hard fought London derby it would be no surprise to see both sides score, but don’t be fooled into thinking that all is lost if Arsenal go behind.

They have actually beaten Chelsea six times after falling behind to the Blues in the Premier League, while the Pensioners have only come back to win once after trailing against the Gunners.

I fancy Arsenal to win 2-1 and that can be backed at a massive looking 21 with Betfred.

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Comments

  1. Hey Andy, very supporting and positive quotes!!! I actually like it!!!. Verma is more likely not to play tmrw but will be a subs. Im confident that the boys wont desapoint us and after the 8-2 deafeat at Old Trafrd, I think that this is the best opportunity for the boys and AW to prove otherwse. Although, Chelsea is a good team,I think that we do have all chances to break them down. My preferred line up:
    Jenkinson- Mertsacker-Kosc-Gibbs (Verma)
    —————–Song—Frimpong-(Arteta)————–
    ———————–Ramsey——————–
    Theo——————-RvP————–Gervinho

  2. I assure you that Winger’s boys would definitely pick three points from the blues backyard. Who told that Arsenal are not favourable for trophy this season? Wait and see.

  3. dont be amazed wen u c a dog killin tiger i mean winger boys can do sometin remakerble tomorro

  4. u shd loock at dose guys tumw. they will perform excellently, they have the potencial to win chelsea home,let those guys rise to their chanllenges and fight
    ahead i believed they can still make it.up Gooners

  5. In all honesty, I don’t have the greatest of feelings for tonight’s match. I would love nothing more than for Arsenal to win, by whatever margin they can, but I just have an off feeling about it. Chelsea aren’t great team they were a few years ago, but they still have a lot of potential. They have players like Mata that offer them a creative cog in the midfield and with that, I have a feeling we may be caught out if we’re not careful. We need to be switched on at ALL times. Arsenal has a tendency of being punished when they, especially the defence, switches off and tomorrow they can ill-afford to make such a mistake. Winning will give our team such a confidence boost that could see a huge turn in performance levels. However, my gut feeling does say that it could be a draw or loss. And I’m not being pessimistic, because I seriously still hope for the best (ie. a win), I’m just stating my gut feeling. Unfortunately, I’m generally not too wrong when I have these gut feelings…please let me be wrong Arsenal.

  6. As much as its a delight that drogba is not playing,chelsea don’t have to look far as fernando torres can just replace him,drogba would neva be our main threat if arsenal defenders had a brain on how to prevent him from touching the ball and scoring,if arsenal can do the basics right at least we shouldn’t be conceding. Arsenal neva lost to drogba ja thanks! for that quote ADMIN but then again arsenal neva lost 8-2, neva had such a poor start since when ever, its up to arsenal to bring back all three points,why becoz at stamford bridge stadium not everything is blooming in the flower palace,NO BOSWINGA,NO DR0GBA,NO COLE(notSure),RACIAL SLUR ALL ROUND TERRY,VILLA BOAS IS STiLL FINDING HIS FEET,TORRES IS STILL NOT AT THAT HIGH LEVEL,CHELSEA LOST OUT SOMETHING WITH LEAVING THE STADIUM, ARSENAL SHOULDN’T HAVE ANYTHING ON THEi3 MIND EXCEPT WINNING.

  7. Leftcoastgooner, what’s this crap about. Wenger saying the fans are brainwash? That’s not what you want hear about when playing top opposition or having that come from a manager. This seven matches all in a row wins has not prove anything to me and I haven’t gone soft on him, as far as I know wenger should have been shown the door a long time ago,but he put himself on top of the bunch,which will cause havoc if he left by players n certain fans that love him. If wenger wants respect he must give us respect that we serious deserve,for that flag of in wenger we trust,should be taken away until we see trophies coming,believe me fans are no longer brainwash by wenger policies just ask cesc n nasri they will go in full detail. This season its about winning trophies not coming in runner up position.

  8. We need a 4-4-2 system tonight. I mean either Rosicky or Arshavin takes the midfild mantle. Gervinho and Walcott at the wings. Persie and Park at the front. jorou has had his best performances against Chelsea either at the Bridge or EMIRATES.Arnelka got a red so theer is no threat in the air. I would play Koscienly for Torres Pace, include Vermaleen and find a way of fixing Santos at left back. Song is a must there together with Arteta. We have all the ability to thump Chelsea this time round. Atleast they are not the on form team for now. The worst i should expect is a draw.

  9. I would love to see Park start today, along with RVP…
    RVP is in Awesome form but Park can be our Key man.. He has tremendous potential and Chelsea wont have any strategy against him whatsoever..

    + Gervinho to Start and Walcott to be the supersub… he should come in when others are tired running…. his sprints would be of some use….

    And I am super confident on Sckenzy the stopper and RVP the scorer.. Arteta and Vermi or K-os have to handle the show for us…..

    I ve a strong feeling.. We are gonna win today…

    And this indeed changes nothing.. if Wenger doesnt buy players in Jan… he should definitely GO

  10. @ The flyingdutchmen
    I dunno Dutch, The gaffer doesn’t take his cues from me. Personally I would stay low profile and let our play do the talking but then again I may be brainwashed.
    @ Andy Mack what are the odds on Frimpong breaking Terry’s ancient leg in retalliation?
    Well all I’m off wish us luck and all three points.
    COYG!!!!
    PS. Who’s reffing? (and please don’t say Phil “Blind Pig” Dowd)

  11. Three supe goals from us, and some mad defending, let’s hope we kick their ass and come out with 3 points. COYG!

  12. That was soooo sweeeet,i tasted every moment of it! The gunners storm the bridge,and whooop the living daylights outha them.Proud to be a gunner,Write us off,at your own expense!

  13. So, so very proud to be proved wrong and to be a Gunner. Robin Van Persie on absolute FIIIIRE! That was amazing and by the 5th goal, I couldn’t contain my screams of joy. Well done to the attacking side of the team, taking their chances very well!! Well done!

    Defense needs some sorting out though. Mertesacker, for the first goal…he wasn’t even watching Lampard, that was pretty bad defending. Second goal for Chelsea, again Mertesacker let Terry have it easy, but worst of all was Arteta. Why on Earth would you drift back from the front post, to the middle of the goal and then behind the keeper? What’s the keeper there for? To look dumb? Should have marked that front post. 3rd goal was unlucky in terms of play as Lukaku blatantly fouled..Song? But Mata took a brilliant strike. Only reason I’m being so harsh is because we’re not always going to score 5 goals or get lucky like with the 5th goal. Chelsea were very weak defensively in the 2nd half and we happened to take our chances well for once, but that’s not gonna happen all the time. We’ll come up against teams with stronger defenses and a potent attacking threat, and if we defend like that, we’ll be screwed. I’m also quite worried about what happens when RVP is injured. We might have a very serious attacking problem. Our back-up options are not quite up to par just yet. Hopefully RVP stays injury free for the rest of the season. Rest him well Mr. Wenger.

    Enough of that now. So very, very proud to be a Gunner, making our mark on the bridge shooting our way to the high fives. What a brilliant match for the neutral. 8 goals!

  14. Ya what a terrific game. I guessed right today.All ma starting line up was fantastic. Walcott,Persie,Jorou always have good games against Chelsea. Santos is a revealation to all.All the goals were top drawer and goals of the week or even Month.Chelsea were fooled into believing they are an attacking team. I hope City land in the same trap. We need to prepare Park incase Persie gets injured like we all think to pick up from there. He is at the moment the best striker in the world. Congs guys

  15. Great team and great play. I am so happy for our boys. Nice way to celebrate the weekend. In Arsene I truly trust.

  16. I’m a gunner through and through. I’m not half baked, I also happen to understand money. In the Wenger regime we dont buy class we make it.

  17. Its a win alright,but the game could of ended in the first ten minutes for arsenal becoz of poor defense,although keeping calm heads the team of the day walk away with three points,another special game for the dutch maestro,its a win to celebrate and remember also for building on,desperate help of need for quality defending n finishing of goals.

  18. Proud to be a Gunner today (and always) the look on Terry’s face after his slip up made my day. the team is really beginning to gel now and they are beginning to look like a team.. Santos was good going forward but very scary at the back. He dives in at a 50% success rate. Mertesacker looked ill at ease today, after some good performances. I have to say though that Kos was great. If TV can stay fit and steady the defence we may be on a winner.

  19. R. Van Persie was today caught on camera, raping 11 grown men in east-London. One of the victims was alledgedly found in a public toilet, having sex with one of his teammates wife, while sobbing and shouting racist comments towards random people.

  20. Ridiculous defending. Luckily on the day, they were nearly as bad as we were, but overall an exciting, entertaining and FANTASTIC 3 points for us.

    Ramsey, Gervinho and Walcott were all amazing (what a goal by Theo). They helped van Persie absolutely rip Chelsea to shreds on the counter. We’re still in 7th, but we this string of games capped by an incredible night at Stamford Bridge have regained us the respect in all competition that we now surely deserve.

    Onward and upward. We are The Arsenal!!!

  21. Todays game was incredible. But, our tactics was wrong cos Ramsey and Gervinho were tired, but he choose instead to replace a solid Djourou and an impressive Walcott. I would have chosen rather to attack their weak left flank when we were 3-2 up. This is because they were bombing forward and we couldn’t counter with speed when necessary(I would have introduced Arshavin for Ramsey, we were counter attacking, but no one to shoot or run). After equalizing, they refused to take us serious and kept a very high line which RVP pounced on to score our fourth. What if we didn’t have such a predatory striker? What if we didn’t have Van Persie? Wenger’s ways are indeed queer. This is why we MUST trust him.

  22. What an insane match! Kamikaze defending and brilliant attack. I’m not the biggest fan of Walcott but he played well today and put in a few great crosses. ramsay and Song were great and how good is Santos…as an attacker! Even Djorou settled down after an awful start. Rvp got the headlines but it was a team effort the boys seemed to really be up for it. And as for JOhn Terry…couldn’t happen to a bigger knob! Bring back TV!!!

  23. I told you the Chavs have more problems at the back than we do.
    But none-the-less you have to admit that was awfully sweet.
    How many times can I watch this replay???
    Lots and lots. I hope we don’t get cocky and lose to West Brom at home.
    Remember, we did not beat them at all last year. At the Emirates they beat us 5-3 and we had a 4-4 draw away that Arshavin scored two second half substitute goals for the only point we got off them.
    Danger Will Robinson.
    @Dan Brookes Dude, I love your avitar!

  24. What a win!
    Fair enough the defending was awful and they got their tactics seriously wrong but you still have to give our boys credit, Koscielny is on a run of good games, lets hope hes turned a corner. Gervinho is unpredictable and kills defenders with his movement, Iv said for years we dont run in behind the opposition or run directly at them, look at what happens when we adopt that strategy with the right type of player, at times it was like watching the old invincible side they way we moved forward, there was a gameplan, as an attacking force their was method in the way we moved forward and it was a great day for this group, a coming of age maybe.
    The fans were immense, I think those gooners in the stands delirious celebrations matched those of every arsenal fan, we have been waiting for a day like this for so long, to have something to smile about and let the rest know were still here!
    I was a little disturbed and more than a little angry when we became wasteful and aimless after goin 3-2 up and Wenger elected to take off both our out-balls in Walcott and Gervinho but we got there in the end thanks in large to the long overdue piece of good fortune weve been waiting for for so long.
    Ramsey was top class and Arteta still has more to come, Vermaelens now back and confidence is high, maybe we can still acheive a top 4 spot!

  25. It was indeed a good final score.
    But 29th Oct’11 made me realize how badly has Arsene Wenger Wounded us.
    I still feel he should go, unless he buys some good players in January.
    I feel we need a good striker and a good and known playmaker….
    Even Barcelona produces good players.. but there is a good mix of stars and stars to be…

    With RVP in best of his form and Sckenzy being a wonderful find.. we have saved 30 + 20 = 50 Millions on buying a star striker and a star Goalie…. And Gervinho has been worth every pinny of 11 Million spent on him… we need more such players thought

  26. What a game, what a win! It seems the style is becoming more direct, using the pace of Gervinho/Walcott.

    Maybe now the naysayers who know who and what players AW should buy can be quiet for the next 2 days(until CL fixture). Somehow they seem to know more about the financial state of the club than those who run it! I guess that is why they manage teams on the keyboard. Last year, they clamored for some goalie to replace Scezy, now AW saved millions on Scezy! Head bang on desk.

  27. We need to maintain the attack as sharp as possible, we may not be able to outscore every other team. Maybe the BFG should relax so Vermaelen could take his place….KOS is doing wonderful so far. KOS is AMAZING. I certainly would not like Vermaelen played anywhere else apart from Cb. Hats off to RVP and the boys

  28. i am more than happy with the score, 5-3 is better than 1-0
    I am more than happy with the team (its getting better by the match)
    I am more than happy with our Manager (best we have ever had)
    I am more than happy with our stadium (fit for king)
    I am more than happy to leave the negatives to the media and spoilt gunners (youve never had it so good)
    I am more than happy to be a Gooner
    I am more than happy that our team now has a global support
    basically Im happy

  29. Park needs to begin games inorder to prepare him incase Persie gets injured cause he seems a descent forward and has an eye for goal. I hope he is the last nail on Chamakh’s presence at aresnal come January. I would enjoy Bendtner comming back at any moment.We need BFG for his hight. Remember both TV and Kos are slightly short and so poor at set pieces. BFG is a necessary evil in our defence.Is Diaby an arsenal player? It looks like we have one of the biggest squads in the league .

  30. btw, what’s with the almunia-sque mad rushing from sczc? Does Almunia have a voodoo doll of our keeper and push pins causing sudden, involuntary and kamikaze runs outside his area? This is the 3rd time he has come out like this. Still buzzing from the match, must have seen the goals a thousand times. Hope the run continues, the boys keep their head focused and keep winning.

  31. I guess ALL Arsenal keepers MUST have the ability to be secondary sweepers cos we play a high line in almost all our games. He only seems quicker/fitter than Almunium.

  32. Anybody got a clue on tomorrow’s line up against OM?
    Will BFG get a day off and if so who do we pair with TV5?
    What about RVP? How many games can we play him in knowing his proclivity for injuries? Can Park start against a French team he knows well and has scored against?
    How many quarts in a litre and more importantly how many shots in a litre of Jagermeister?
    All these questions and no answers. Oh well,if I just wait until Teusday.
    BTW: Chelsea are now pursuing Napoli striker Edison Roberto Cavani. The price tag is $35M.USD. What happened to $50M Torres? This may go down as THE flop of the decade if not the century. Robin for sure has a big raise coming.

  33. Hi Leftcoast

    My feeling is that Wenger will want to shore up qualification first and foremost and that will take priority over resting key players. I reckon he might bring Arshavin back in for Gervinho or Walcot and maybe try TV and Kos together at centre back, and maybe rest Ramsay and bring in Rosicky. But what do I know?!

    What I do know is that I have watched the highlights from the Chelsea game a few times now and it cheers me up each time!

  34. I think we are definately back on our way up but we just have to keep taking it one game at a time and see the points roll in… the chelsea game was sooo good to see i havent had that feeling from an arsenal win in a while and the guys showed real grit and determination… we are starting to get the atitude of us against the world and that can only be good news… bring on marseille…

  35. First of all i would like to congratulate Arsenal on a moral boosting winning Vs CHls (Still have concerns about the defense) but the Attack AS we all knew would score goals. I didn’t expect us to beat CHLS but we did and that’s great. I must also confess that Robin Vanpersie is without a doubt the (BEST) hottest striker in the PREM and Boy do Arsenal need him. Iv never really blamed the players for the mess we’re in BUT things look a lot different now and there is optimism. I pray we continue to improve and not go back to our bad habits

  36. Hi Terry, Hi all,
    Pretty tight first half. To be honest both sides look a little knackered. Mertesacker is going to have to get a day off sometime but who knows when? Vermaelen looks quick and alert and Ramsey and Theo both have had a moment but the side doesn’t seem to have Park’s movement figured yet. He’s a faster version of Eduardo and wants the ball at his feet running diagonally through the 18 yard area. I guess it takes time to figure each other out. Gervinho just about sprung him once but their CB got a shin block to save them. Anybody for Arshavin in Areteta’s spot in the second half? Defensively it’s a bit risky but he works better with Park and I think he and Gervinho in tandem might unlock them. Worth a try?

  37. I had concerns about the attack from the Chelski game and was proven correct yesterday. MUST we rely on RVP for goals? Are there no other players that can score. I would’ve felt Rosicky would start in place of Ramsey. I noticed Ramsey was getting tired towards the end of the Chelski game. Why cant we ever play Arshavin in midfield? If we had Arshavin, Rosicky and Song in the middle in the first half, we would have won this game. Or if RVP had started, he/we might have gotten a goal in the first half. We couldn’t somehow take our chances. Arteta was very sloppy in the first few minutes. He too deserves some rest. Now, we need two more points to qualify. Taking the remaining six would not be a bad idea. This was a home match we needed to win.

    VERDICT….we deserve a lot more from this midfield than we are currently getting. Shooting from outside the box is not experimented……anyone remember how we conceded the last goal to spurs or Mata’s goal last week.

    We MUST start shooting from outside the box or atleast play people who can shoot more accurately. I cannot blame Park, he was not fed properly and others around him took him to be RVP, the midfield should have stepped up their game. The defense has no problems, they can only get better.

  38. @Gunnerboss
    Agreed that the midfield with the exception of Song was lacking but the team as a whole was tired. I thought Arshavin should have been in the middle because he works better with Park’s style but I guess the gaffer didn’t want to risk it defensively. OM had some good momnets in the 2nd half and had it been Arshavin out there instead of the hard working Arteta they might have bulged the onion bag.
    Still, at some point the Boss is going to have to put some faith in a second unit because it is clear there has to be more to the team than RVP and BFG in every game. If we don’t have supporting players we can trust with an important match how much support are they?
    Anyhow it is a point and a draw. The winning streak though lovely was going to have to end sometime and at least this does not hurt us much. A win this weekend against the Baggies at home will soothe any bad feelings. I think we should give the Park-Arshavin combo another try at it and rest some tired players like Robin and Per. I know this means playing Johan D. and possibly Squllaci together at the back but they’re on the payroll and shoud earn it at some point.
    Aleardy ready for West Brom.
    COYG!!!!

  39. I thought we were playing Shittey. Never checked really. Was salivating at the prospect of beating those table toppers.

  40. I am not sure if we were too confident that rvp will be the saviour for us all or we were just too tired to take all three points,but the argument that I was making that the dortmund game was vital to us,that we take all three points but your guys were happy with one point which is now costing us,becoz we will play with a strong team against dortmund and probably win but will be lying with 11 points and marsielle with have 10 points after their 5th game. Wenger will be happy with qualifying but not determined to win at olyimpiakos using a depleted squad which then cause marsielle to end up with 13 points by passing arsenal to win the group,this could be wenger doing again making us face a strong team so early, history hasn’t been on wenger side.as far as I am concern there are players which are afraid to take the club to a old time low and are scrapping up victories by the skin of their neck,I don’t know if your guys are blinded or not wenger should be concern of which players to buy as the victories can only last for so long.

  41. MUST vp start every game for us? We are damn too reliant on him. Park has to start firing. If wenger plays Park again, I suggest he plays Arshavin behind him in midfield to supply him…..Arshavin is very accurate(shooting and passing). A change in personnel should result in a slight change of tactics else we surprise ourselves again. If Marseille dont loose a game, we have to keep winning………ELSE-BArca

  42. @ The Flyingdutchmen
    It would have been nice to close it up yesterday but have faith Dutch. The team is still learning and after the disasterous ending of last season and the equally harsh start to this one I don’t think we are going to win every game outright.
    We’re on a pretty good run at the moment 7-1-1 in our last nine. One game at a time will have to do. Take care dude.

  43. @the flyindutchmen
    Too much coffee perhaps.
    Methinks it’s time for a WBA preview.
    All 3 points or a slip up?

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