"Arsenal's Bold Moves Leave Chelsea Scrambling in Title Race"

THIS weekend Arsenal host Chelsea in a huge clash which could be pivotal for both the title and Champions League races.

The Gunners are five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League as they face the Blues, who represent their most significant test at the Emirates between now and the end of the season.

Declan Rice spoke to SunSport about the importance of tactics ahead of Arsenal ChelseaCredit: Getty Mikel Arteta will have a ‘horses for courses’ predicament in the clash, while Liam Rosenior will need to consider his cat-and-mouse gameCredit: Reuters

They will need to be at their best mentally, physically and tactically to overcome ‘s Champions League-chasing visitors.

And if there are any naysayers over the importance of tactics, then take their importance from .

The £105million star exclusively spoke to SunSport earlier this week, and told our tactics guru Dean Scoggins how it was “impossible” to go into a game without being tactically sound in the modern era.

Rice reserved particular praise for , whose sessions he believed would leave 100 fans invited into one “taken aback” by how impressive they were, even admitting it took him a while to grasp it.

versus will come down to them being able to beat the low block Rosenior is likely to set up with, particularly given the history of recent clashes seen in the at the last game in north London.

Chelsea have something of a selection headache with no at left-back, leaving a choice of or . Wesley Fofana is also out after his suspension earned at .

Strangely enough, the way Arsenal could counter the low block is by throwing fewer players forward.

The idea behind this would be to use Chelsea’s own shape against them to lure them forwards into a higher-press shape, which would then potentially free up space for attacking options such as .

There is also an argument for to be selected over Jurrien Timber, who has looked a little tired recently due to playing an extraordinary amount of games.

White’s ability to overlap and hold width could be the best way to create additional space between the lines for Saka to exploit, as once again he will be at the heart of everything Arsenal do well.

However, Arteta also has a selection headache over .

Odegaard is the captain, but showed his class with a stunning display in last week’s north London derby, second only to Man of the Match .

Both provide key attributes for Arsenal, emphasising the strength in depth they have.

But it is very much a case of ‘horses for courses’. That indecision in the Arsenal camp will be playing on Chelsea’s mind in their pre-match prep.

Odegaard, when he plays, is the leader of the Arsenal press, and with Chelsea possessing a number of press-resistant players, that will put pressure on the visitors in dangerous areas.

If Arsenal get their press right, they will win the ball back with Chelsea off-balance, which will free up the Gunners’ firepower going forward.

Everyone who has watched Arsenal this season is well aware of their proficiency at set-pieces.

Rosenior used an interesting counter-move the last time the two teams met by placing players high up the field at corners, meaning Arsenal had to sacrifice some of their own numbers in the box to mark them.

It is a move that is becoming more popular, and it’s easy to imagine it will be the same again on Sunday.

That being said, Arsenal are the best team in the league, possibly the world at set-pieces, so this cat-and-mouse tactic may not be used at every single corner.

The likes of or Joao Pedro may see fit to make the decision depending on the flow of the game.