THE wheels have fallen off Arsenal's title challenge in the last month and it will be fascinating to see how they respond when crisis club Chelsea come calling for a London derby in the Premier League.
The Gunners were odds-on for the title when they thrashed Leeds 4-1 on April Fool's Day but it looks like Manchester City will now have the last laugh after a run of four games without a win for Mikel Arteta's side.
Arsenal are now as big as 12/1 with LiveScoreBet to win the Premier League after losing 4-1 to rivals City last time out on a great night for our man Mark. Missing out on the title would be a huge blow after leading the race for so long but at least Arteta's side have banked a place in next season's Champions League.
Chelsea won't even manage to make the Europa Conference League and their decline has been incredible since ruling Europe just two years ago when Thomas Tuchel was in charge.
The decision to bin Tuchel after a slow start to this season has backfired spectacularly, with replacement Graham Potter binned just a few months into his lucrative five-year contract.
Matters took a surreal turn when Blues chiefs then asked Frank Lampard, the man sacked to make way for Tuchel, to come back as interim boss. That has proved to be a disastrous decision with Chelsea losing all five games since Lampard's return.
Two bets landed for me as they lost 2-0 at home to Brentford last time out and incoming boss Mauricio Pochettino faces a huge task moulding this collection of expensive misfits into a team capable of bouncing back next season.
How the bookies view it
Given Chelsea's horrendous run of results, it's no real surprise to see them as big as 19/4 with BetUK for an Emirates win. Arsenal's best price is just 4/6 at Betfred and the draw pays 16/5 at Betway.
Recent head to head
Arsenal edged a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge when these sides locked horns earlier this season and have dominated this fixture in recent years. They have lost just one of the last seven meetings, although that 2-0 defeat did come at the Emirates last term.
Players to watch
I'd expect Arteta to freshen things up a little in a bid to shake his side out of their slumber. Leandro Trossard could be handed a start and the Belgian winger is 49/20 at Unibet for anytime scorer and 4/6 with the same firm just to have a shot on target.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off the bench at half-time against Brentford and Lampard might be tempted to start the striker against his old club. Aubameyang will have a point to prove against the manager who ostracised him at Arsenal and is 19/5 at BetUK for anytime scorer.
Anything else catch the eye?
Arsenal have been leaking goals since William Saliba's injury and their last clean sheet came seven games ago. Even though Chelsea have been shot-shy for most of the season I can see them getting some joy against the Gunners defence and BTTS is 22/25 with Unibet.
Derbies are usually close affairs so I fancy a one-goal winning margin for either side, which pays 6/4 at McBookie. That bet landed when these sides faced off at Stamford Bridge earlier this season.
There's usually plenty of needle in this fixture and seven yellows were flashed in that clash back in November. Over 4.5 cards pays 19/20 with Paddy Power while Granit Xhaka is 11/4 at Bet365 for a 12th card this season.
This English Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea will be played on May 2, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Arsenal vs Chelsea prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
