**Arsenal**aim to cap off their first week back from the international break with a win at Chelsea.
The Blues beat **Barcelona**3-0 in the Champions League in midweek and sit in second spot in the Premier League table, six points behind the league leaders. They are brimming with confidence, but **Stamford Bridge**could set the stage for another ugly reunion with one of their former players.
Noni Madueke moved for £52 million from **Chelsea**in the summer, becoming another spare part in the BlueCo project despite being the team’s third highest scorer across the previous two seasons.
Many supporters were sceptical of his arrival in North London, but he has been a strong backup for Bukayo Saka. He scored his first goal for the Gunners against Bayern Munich seconds after taking the place of the number seven on the right wing, and he is looking forward to Sunday’s showdown.
**Chelsea**should be cautious: it is not the first time Mikel Arteta has hurt the Blues with their castoffs.
Luiz leaves firmer foundations
Arteta arrived at the scene of a mess in North London when he left his role as an assistant coach at **Man City**to coach **Arsenal**in December 2019. The side struggled their way to an eighth placed finish in the Premier League at a time when leaders were few and far between in public perception.
So, the Spaniard was very grateful for the presence of an old member of the Blues: David Luiz.
His arrival at the Emirates Stadium was an unexpected move. The Brazilian was not promised a starting role in central defence under new manager, and former teammate, Frank Lampard. Happy to remain in the English capital, he chose to switch allegiances to **Arsenal**for a fee of £8 million.
The veteran never repaired his reputation for blunders: no **Premier League**player had ever conceded more than the five penalties he personally shipped in the 2019/20 campaign. However, his leadership behind the scenes was readily welcomed in the camp, easing **Bukayo Saka**into life in the first team.
Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, another big influence for Saka, scored twice at Wembley Stadium as **Arsenal**defeated **Chelsea**2-1 in the **FA Cup**final. Luiz was part of the back five on the day, and he earned his fourth domestic honour in England, triumphing at the expense of his old employers.
That success would also give Arteta room to breathe on the long and painful path back to becoming a competitive club. At that chapter in his career, another former Blue became a big asset in his plans.
Eddie answers the call
The top four race in spring of 2022 ended in tears as **Tottenham**took the bragging rights on derby day and in the final standings. But this phase of the season was a big personal triumph for one man.
Eddie Nketiah had been waiting for his opportunity: Aubameyang began the campaign as the starting striker, and Alexandre Lacazette took his place after the club captain left for Barcelona. But the Frenchman looked out-of-sorts in front of goal, and as the weeks went on, Arteta rolled the dice.
Nketiah made his first league start of the season against **Southampton**in a 1-0 defeat, the team’s third loss in a row. Spurs were in their stride, and the trip to **Chelsea**could have turned into a fatal blow.
But the 22-year-old provided the goods in a time of need. He pounced on a poor pass from Andreas Christensen to open the scoring at **Stamford Bridge**before exploiting a series of errors in the box in the second half to put the Gunners 3-2 ahead. Saka sealed the three points from the penalty spot, but pride of place on the evening belonged to a player who had been released by Chelsea as a 16 year old.
Jorginho joins in on the party
Since that victory, **Arsenal**have not lost against the Blues. Once more, the 2022/23 season ended bitterly for Arteta’s men, but two transfers highlighted the contrasting fortunes of the capital clubs.
Aubameyang departed **Barcelona**for **Chelsea**in September 2022 to sign for Thomas Tuchel, but he played only once for German before the board axed him from his position. They picked Graham Potter as his replacement, and the turmoil at the club produced a historically disastrous campaign.
The Blues finished 13th in the Premier League, and a pair of disappointing displays against **Arsenal**were two low points of a year that involved £575 million of spending across two transfer windows.
Aubameyang was anonymous at **Stamford Bridge**as **Arsenal**earned a 1-0 win in West London in November. Gabriel Magalhaes scored from a set-piece, and he hit back against his former teammate on social media. The big Brazilian tweeted ‘Nothing Personal. North London is red’ as a spin-off of Aubameyang’s declaration that his allegiances were with the blue side of London in a BT Sports ad.
Given the opportunity, **Jorginho**jumped ship in January, and he went the other way to North London. The Italian international started in the reverse fixture, seamlessly stepping in for Thomas Partey, and he helped **Arsenal**return to the top of the table with a 3-1 triumph at the Emirates.
Aubameyang again played for Chelsea, making minimal impact. He had nine touches, four of which were kickoffs at the centre circle, and exited the field to a chorus of sarcastic cheers at half time.
Kai Havertz has the last laugh
As the Gunners have gained supremacy in London, their most impressive result under Arteta involved a large serving of Schadenfreude and presented a starring role for a much-maligned summer signing.
Kai Havertz had gifted **Chelsea**a second Champions League crown in 2021 with the only goal of the game against **Man City**in Porto, but his positionless profile and lack of output were too much of a burden to bear for many fans. When **Arsenal**agreed to take on his services for a fee of £65 million, only £7 million less than the price paid by **Chelsea**in 2020, the Blues rubbed their hands with glee.
Havertz could not nail down a starting spot as an 8 and he only seldom played as a central forward in the first half of the 2023/24 season. But fortunes changed after the trip to Dubai: from February, he returned to the role of a central forward, and he scored nine goals across 14 league appearances.
His first brace for the club came against the perfect opposition. **Chelsea**endured severe growing pains as Mauricio Pochettino muddled through the mess of previous transfer windows, and Havertz heaped on the agony. He notched himself a second half brace at the **Emirates Stadium**as part of an emphatic 5-0 victory: the record triumph for the Gunners in this meeting in the **Premier League**era.