The nightmare draw continues for Emery and his comrades as we travel to the west of the city to meet a familiar foe in Chelsea. Arguably you couldn’t have asked for a worse start, the champions on day one and Chelsea, to whom we have a terrible away record up second. This will be a real test.

The Blues won convincingly against Huddersfield last week 3-0 but let’s not forget their tumultuous pre-season and all the drama surrounding Conte. It was good for them to get the win, but let’s not pretend they’re a little concerned either. They won’t like facing us as much as we won’t like facing them. An easier team like Huddersfield last week, was a good chance for new gaffer Sarri to get into the Chelsea rhythm, however we have a chance to give him his first real big test.

We are of course coming off of a loss to Manchester City, but Emery has a chance to shake up the team. Ainsley Maitland Niles’ injury may be a blessing in disguise as Lichtstiener came on and really impressed, and same goes for Lacazette off the bench. Torriera may not have been fit last week coming off a World Cup campaign, but with Guendouzi doing so well, the manager has some (good) selection headaches for this week.

One thing’s for sure, Emery will not be changing the goalkeeper. The new boss has confirmed during the week that Cech will be facing his old club and will be the number one for the foreseeable future. Personally I do think that if we are playing from the back Leno would be better, but I also have made it clear that I will be giving Emery time and backing whatever decision he makes 100%. This mean being patient for the next season or so even if some decision seem strange. The reason myself and many others had a short fuse with Wenger is that he had years to get it right and made the same mistakes. There’s still 37 more league games to go, we know Cech is class and has the quality, there’s a long way to go before we can make a full judgment.

I would like to see Ozil move into the middle instead of on the wing like the last game as I do feel he is more effective there. I would also like to see Torriera start, I believe as good as Guendouzi was, experience is required for big games, however, this is a difficult decision for the manager as it won’t do much for the youngster’s confidence to be dropped so soon. For example the first goal we conceded off of Sterling he could have tracked better, as harsh as it is, it is the little things that count.

We do have a problem at Stamford Bridge. It is a place we do not perform well. We need to go in there with no fear, with the backing of a new manager and a new era, play to our potential with nothing to lose and I believe we can get a result. Too many times in the past we have been builled psychologically more than anything, it is as much about the mindset as it is about Emery’s new tactics to get over the line on Saturday.

Rumours from Arsenal Fan TV were that the first team played a behind closed doors friendly against Crystal Palace on Monday. Emery is serious about employing this new style and serious about doing well at Chelsea on Saturday.

With that knowledge, the positives we saw against City and Chelsea’s own new managerial/transitional issues, I believe we can go there and get a 1-1 result.

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