Arsenal: Saka ‘doesn’t like’ facing Chelsea star

John Terry believes Bukayo Saka won’t be relishing the challenge he faces against a particular Chelsea star on Sunday as the Blues legend detailed how his former side can deal with Arsenal’s set-piece threat.

The Gunners are currently six points clear of Chelsea ahead of what looks set to be an intriguing top-of-the-table clash with both sides full of confidence on the back of huge Champions League wins.

Chelsea saw off Barcelona at Stamford Bridge as Brazilian starlet Estevao stole the headlines, while Mikel Arteta’s side dismissed Bayern Munich.

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The Blues were further boosted in the wake of that victory when manager Enzo Maresca revealed Cole Palmer – who’s missed most of the season through injury – is fit and ready to start against Arsenal.

“It’s a massive boost for the football club to have such a top player back involved,” ex-Chelsea captain Terry said of Palmer’s potential return on his TikTok page.

“But also, more importantly for him, to potentially get 20 to 30 minutes of game-time in his legs so he’s ready for the rest of the season.

Terry continued: “The manager has some big decisions to make after such a big performance against Barcelona in the week. Will he keep the same XI?

“Will Joao Pedro come down the middle as a No.9 or possibly Liam Delap? Will Pedro Neto move out to the left and Alejandro Garnacho on the left maybe?

“I’m not sure, but whatever the manager’s been doing in recent weeks he’s certainly got it right and I’m sure he’ll make the same call again this weekend.”

Terry then picked out the key battles ahead of the clash, claiming Marc Cucurella could get the upper hand on Saka after dominating Lamine Yamal in the victory over Barcelona.

“We have some battles in the middle of the park,” he added.

“Moises Caicedo against Declan Rice… two outstanding players who have been superb for both clubs and been putting in man-of-the-match performances week after week so that’s going to be a big battle in the middle of the park.

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“We have Saka against Cucurella that’s always a good battle. With them two, I’m not sure Saka likes the aggression from Cucurella.

“But let me tell you, every Chelsea supporter [does like the aggression] so hopefully he brings that same energy and same intensity like he does always.”

In a separate video on his TikTok page, Terry explained how he believes Chelsea can thwart Arsenal at set pieces.

“Both teams have set-piece coaches and the importance of these set-piece coaches are vital to both Arsenal’s success and Chelsea’s success, from both attacking and defending corners,” he said.

“Let me tell you, set-pieces in training are the most boring thing and no one likes doing it, but the importance of it is vital and you can see that Arsenal have really bought into their set-piece coach and how much Mikel Arteta believes in it. You can see how much work they do on a daily basis.

“But we [Chelsea] need to make sure that we’re ready from set-pieces right from the outset because Arsenal are very good and we need to make sure we’re ready to deal with that.

“One they ofter do is when they have runners coming from around back. I would go man-to-man, give players a bit of responsibility, stop marking the zone in these big games.

“Put me with an individual and go: ‘JT, that’s your man, you go and deal with him whatever way you have to deal with him, don’t let him get a run on you, don’t let him get a free header.’

“Make contact, make it as difficult as you possibly can and then make sure everyone is doing exactly the same around you, freeing up space for the goalkeeper to come and collect these crosses and take it away from Arsenal’s strengths as well.

“That’s going to be a big topic because Arsenal are very good. We need to on our game and be ready for everything they throw at us.

“But also from out set-pieces, let’s go and make a real difference in the opposition box and go and make sure we get a couple of goals.”