Reversal Of Fortune: Arsenal Exploits Chelsea Mistakes, Posts 3-1 Win Over Blues

Carlo Ancelotti responded immediately and punitively. Florent Malouda has been taken off. Gaël Kakuta is on, with Arsenal on the verge of what could be a trademark victory. After all the doubts surrounding the Gunners ability to beat the Chelseas and Manchester Uniteds of the world, Arsenal holds a 3-0 lead.

With few options on his bench, Ancelotti is going to have to hope this Xi can turn thins around. Early in the second half at the Emirates, Arsenal is up, 2-0.

Lineups have just been announced, so we’ll have to see if any of Ted’s speculation holds. If you want more on the Arsenal point of view, you can visit SB Nation’s Arsenal community blog, The Short Fuse.

For the his full view on today’s trip to the Emirates, visit Graham MacAree at We Ain’t Got No History, SB Nation’s Chelsea community blog.

In this light, some of the make-or-break talk building into this match is well placed. Manchester United hasn’t lost this year and is on a four game winning streak. For whichever team(s) fail to get three today, there’s a significant gap between them and the league’s leaders. It’s not even 2011 so you can’t completely write these clubs off, but with the loser sitting fourth place going into mid-week matches, it would be kind of call the loser’s title chances improbable.

Such are the takes for today’s match at the Emirates, a fixture that sees both teams looking to turn a corner. Chelsea is coming off one of their worst stretches in recent history, having failed to win in league since November 10. Now the Blues are reasonably healthy, with only Alex amongst starters set to miss today’s match. Against an opponent against whom they’ve won four in a row, there is a “if not now, when” feel to the match.