Arsenal expert Charles Watts has exclusively delivered his verdict on whether the Premier League title will be the Gunners' to lose if they beat Chelsea in Sunday's mouthwatering London derby at Stamford Bridge.
After 12 complete gameweeks in the 2025-26 season, Arsenal lead the Premier League standings by six points over the Blues, who are currently their closest challengers before Manchester City's showdown with Leeds United on Saturday.
Should the Citizens suffer a shock loss to the Whites, and Arsenal beat Chelsea with other results going their way, Mikel Arteta's men could be nine points clear at the summit of the table with a third of the season gone by the close of play this weekend.
However, an Arsenal Invincible recently warned that Man City and Liverpool are both capable of pulling off a magnificent Arsene Wenger feat, and speaking to Sports Mole, Watts also shot down the notion that the title will be the Gunners' to lose if they overcome the Club World Cup winners.
“It's far too early," Watts said. "We're not even in December. Lots of rival fans and media are trying to spin the facts, is it Arsenal’s to lose? But it's not. It can literally flip like that. Last season when Merino scored those two goals at Leicester, that closed the gap to about five points in February. And then Liverpool end up running away with it. Everything can change so quickly.
“You can think you're in it one moment and then suddenly you're out of it. You can think you're dominating at one moment, then suddenly two results go against you and you're second. If Arsenal had lost against Tottenham, Chelsea could have gone top with victory this weekend. That's how quickly things can flip.
"Hell of a long way to go" for Arsenal in Premier League title race
“Arsenal are in a brilliant position – they deserve to be in the position they're in. But they are not going to be listening to what people are saying outside, they’re not going to believe that this is done and dusted and it's theirs to lose. They know how difficult it is. Arteta says it every single time - it's so hard to win any game in the Premier League. You have to earn it, to fight for it.
“And Arsenal have got a hell of a long way to go. It's looking good, they're in fantastic form, they look the side to beat, but a long way away from having one hand on the trophy, let alone two. Look at Liverpool after the first five games - everyone's saying they've run away with it, they’re going to get 100 points, win it by a mile. Look at them now.
“Momentum can shift. You can find yourself on a bad run of form and then no matter how many good players you've got, no matter how much money you spend, you can't find a way out of it. It's a slippery slope. So no one's counting their chickens at Arsenal just yet.”
Both Arsenal and Chelsea prepared for Sunday's blockbuster battle with statement wins in the Champions League, as the Blues deservedly overcame Barcelona 3-0 before the Gunners' 3-1 triumph over Bayern Munich.
Maresca's men were aided by Barca's inexplicable high line and first-half red card to Ronald Araujo, though, and the Blues have found the going especially tough against Arsenal down the years, failing to win any of their last seven against them in the Premier League.
Not since August 2021 have the Gunners lost to their London rivals, while their last defeat at Stamford Bridge came all the way back in 2018 - they have avoided losing on each of their last six trips to the ground after being beaten in six from seven between 2013 and 2018.
Charles Watts: 'Days of Chelsea bullying Arsenal are over'
However, Watts does not envisage the head-to-head record counting for much on Sunday, adding: “We all lived through the era where Chelsea versus Arsenal was a horrible match.
"It didn't matter where it was, Emirates or Stamford Bridge, Chelsea would win comfortably and bully Arsenal. Those days are gone. I can't even remember the last time Arsenal lost to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. They’ve played very well there of late.
"The 2-2 a couple of years ago was one game where they were pretty poor and just about salvaged something, but other than that, it's certainly not a ground they're going to fear. They've got very good memories of that place.
“But Chelsea beat Liverpool already this season at home in a really good victory. They’re very dangerous and Arsenal will be well aware of that. I'm not one to look at previous records. Chelsea are very different, a lot of new players. Arsenal have got new players. It's just about what you do on the day."
Arsenal will not have Leandro Trossard (muscle), Gabriel Jesus (ACL) or Gabriel Magalhaes (hamstring) available for Sunday's derby, and Arteta also kept his cards close to his chest when asked about Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz in his pre-game press conference.
On the other hand, Maresca made an unexpectedly positive admission regarding Cole Palmer, who has made just four appearances this term owing to groin and toe problems.
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