For the Champions League-chasing Blues, the Emirates Stadium trip is the first of two away fixtures in the space of four days against sides above us in the Premier League table. The second comes on Wednesday evening as we travel to Aston Villa.

Chelsea have the second-best away record in the league this season – we have taken 22 points from our 13 fixtures on the road. Only this afternoon's opponents have a better tally (29).

The Gunners' home form this season has been strong, but Mikel Arteta's side have won just two of their last four games at the Emirates Stadium. And when it comes to Sunday visits to this corner of north London, we have an impressive 46.2 per cent success rate (six wins, three draws, four defeats).

The corresponding Premier League fixture at Stamford Bridge finished 1-1. Trevoh Chalobah put the ten-man Blues ahead before Mikel Merino levelled the score.

Chelsea have racked up 35 shots in our three previous 2025/26 encounters with Arsenal, including 14 in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at the Emirates, which frustratingly ended in defeat.

Liam Rosenior’s men are targeting a win at the Gunners’ stronghold for the first time since August 2021, when Romelu Lukaku and Reece James found the net in a 2-0 win.

Chelsea team news

In his pre-match press conference, Rosenior confirmed James is fit to face Arsenal, but Marc Cucurella and Estevao Willian will both miss out. Our head coach also provided updates on the recoveries of Levi Colwill, Dario Essugo, Jamie Gittens and Romeo Lavia.

‘Romeo Lavia is getting stronger and stronger,' said the Blues head coach. 'We had a mini-practice match in the week, where he looked really good, which is great for him.

'Jamie Gittens is progressing really well in terms of his rehab. Cucu is progressing really well, but he won’t be available for Sunday. Hopefully, we get him back in as soon as possible.

‘Levi is doing really well with his long-term rehab and Dario Essugo is back on the training pitch as well. Hopefully, we can get all these players fit and on the pitch before the end of the season.’

The history

Chelsea-Arsenal matches have often been notable beyond a mere neighbourly squabble, not least five cup finals and a host of semis.

London’s first top-flight derby was played between the pair in 1907 (a 2-1 Blues win), and the record attendance at Stamford Bridge was recorded for a 1-1 against the Gunners in 1935.

The pair have often entangled when the title was on the line, as is the case this weekend.

Twenty-one years ago, newly-crowned champions Chelsea claimed the capital’s bragging rights and ended a run of 20 league games against the Gunners since 1995 without success.

In that time, the north Londoners had won the league on three occasions: 1997/98, 2001/02 and 2003/04, their most recent such honour.

Our first Premier League title arrived in 2004/05, and the Blues completed a long-awaited league double over the Gunners the following season.

Ever their tormentor, Didier Drogba bundled the ball into the net for 1-0 at the Bridge, ushering in a run of 11 top-flight victories over the next 20 encounters. Arjen Robben and Joe Cole were on the score sheet for the 2-0 victory at Highbury that season.

The west Londoners’ title charge ground to a halt at Highbury in May 2007, with a 1-1 draw thanks to one of Michael Essien’s less explosive goals – a glanced header – handing the honours to Manchester United.

But the Blues overcame the Gunners’ firepower home and away again in 2009/10, when Carlo Ancelotti’s side also completed the FA Cup and Premier League Double.

In April 2015, with seven games to go, second-placed hosts Arsenal had to win to help prevent a fourth Premier League triumph for the Blues.

A muscular and mentally strong performance by Jose Mourinho’s visitors for a vital 0-0 had home fans chanting ‘boring, boring, Chelsea’. ‘I think 10 years without the title, that’s boring,’ responded the Portuguese head coach.

Perhaps the most amazing influence of this derby on the destination of the league came at the Emirates in September 2016, when Antonio Conte saw his side ship three without reply before the break. The Italian promptly dropped his tactical reservations and switched to a defensive back three for the second half – and indeed the rest of the season when it so obviously clicked.

When Chelsea beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Bridge in February 2017, it opened a nine-point gap at the top and the Italian lifted the trophy two months later. Neither has won the league since.

Know this...

Chelsea have won both Premier League away games so far under Rosenior.

Joao Pedro is the leading marksman among forwards signed last summer, with 11 Premier League goals, ahead of Hugo Ekitike (10), Viktor Gyokeres (10), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (10), Nick Woltemade (seven) and Benjamin Sesko (six).

The world champions are the joint-second-best away side in the top flight in terms of points (22) and have scored the joint-most goals (25) on the road.

Chelsea have dropped 19 league points from winning positions this season, but only two of them away from Stamford Bridge, where the west Londoners have scored first in five of 13 games.

Only Tottenham Hotspur’s players (five) have made more errors leading to goals than Arsenal’s (four) this calendar year.

The Blues are on a run of scoring hat-tricks in consecutive away games – Cole Palmer at Wolverhampton Wanderers and Pedro Neto in the FA Cup at Hull City.

The Blues have won six and lost one of our 10 top-flight London derbies this season.

Premier League London table