Terry absence set to be felt when Arsenal face Chelsea

“(I will) find him one day outside a football pitch and I will break his face.” Jose Mourinho, it’s safe to say, is not a fan of Arsene Wenger. Even now in charge of Manchester United, the former Blues boss has stoked the flames ahead of Arsenal’s welcome of Chelsea this weekend. While the fixture doesn’t have the same allure as it once did when it saw Mourinho and Wenger face off, it’s still arguably the most enticing match up in the Premier League this weekend. 

Chelsea, despite their frequent changes in manager, still hold the psychological edge of the Gunners. Arsenal haven’t beaten their London rivals since a Robin van Persie-inspired hat-trick helped Arsenal to a surprise 5-3 win at Stamford Bridge in 2011, while Wenger’s side haven’t overcome Chelsea in the league on home turf since December 2010. Yet, Arsenal have perhaps been handed their best chance of securing a top-flight win over Chelsea for the first time in just shy of five years. 

The main blow to the Blues is the absence of captain and centre-back John Terry. His influence at the heart of the Chelsea defence can’t be overestimated. He’s captained the club to five of their last six league wins over Arsenal, starting on the bench in the 2-0 home win against the Gunners last season. In those five league encounters, Arsenal have failed to score. To say he marshals the backline for the Blues is an understatement. 

Barking orders across the backline, Chelsea are a far more organised team when Terry is available. While the west London side were far from solid in the 2-2 draw with Swansea in Terry’s last game, the former England international earning a WhoScored rating of just 6.25, the lack of direction at the heart of the defence in last Friday’s 2-1 home loss to Liverpool was painstakingly obvious. Dejan Lovren’s goal was a prime example of the impact Terry has on the side. 

While the defence pushed out to try and spring the offside trap, Gary Cahill was left marking Joel Matip, while three Liverpool players were in ample space behind the Cameroonian centre-back, allowing Lovren to pick his spot to side foot past Thibaut Courtois. Having shipped twice in midweek in the eventual 4-2 EFL Cup win over Leicester, Arsenal will be confident of finding a way past Chelsea’s Belgian goalkeeper. Indeed, the last six league meetings between the Blues and Arsenal Terry has missed, Chelsea have won just two, drawing two and losing the other two. 

Furthermore, since August 2014, Chelsea have a better Premier League ratio when Terry starts (54.5%) than when he does not (33.3%). Given his advancing years, some may have felt Terry wouldn’t be as big a loss as predicted, but he brings an air of composure and calmness to the backline and it’s here were Arsenal can ultimately capitalise. The Gunners have netted 14 goals in their last five competitive outings, while star man Alexis Sanchez is beginning to rediscover his best form, having scored four and registered one assist in his last four outings in the Premier League and Champions League. 

The Gunners have the fluidity and directness in the final third to put any opponent to the sword on their day and with Theo Walcott starting to find his groove and Alex Iwobi impressing out wide, they pack pace in abundance. Given David Luiz’s at times erratic approach to defending and Cahill’s lack of speed compared to the Gunners’ rapid frontline, there is a possibility that the Chelsea defence could be overrun time and time again if the Arsenal forward line is given the space to attack with the ball at their feet. 

While Terry is hardly the fastest centre-back across the defensive third, his notable reading of an attacking situation and willingness to sit deeper to make up for his athletic shortcomings means his ankle injury is a bigger blow that some may care to admit. Chelsea have routinely fared better with the 35-year-old at the heart of the defence and if Arsenal are to wrestle themselves free of the vice-like psychological grip their London neighbours have over the Gunners, then Saturday’s evening kick off is the best chance they currently have.

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