Since Arteta's arrival in 2019 there have been three wins from five visits to SW6 and just one loss on opposition territory, not to mention that the Spaniard has defeated three Chelsea managers - four if Frank Lampard's interim spell counts as different coaches - in his four years in charge.
Now, though, he faces a more experienced manager when it comes to London derbies. This will be the first meeting between Arteta and Mauricio Pochettino and the game comes at both a good and a bad time for Arsenal. The Gunners are coming off the back of a title-changing and confidence-boosting 1-0 win over Manchester City but have had their momentum disrupted by the recent break.
The same can be said of Chelsea, who are currently in their best run of results since March and the longest winning streak under Pochettino so far as well. Both sides are absolutely riddled with injury issues though and there could be nearly 20 first-team players between both teams missing come Saturday.
Perhaps the biggest amongst them is Bukayo Saka. The 22-year-old was absent from Arsenal's last Premier League game after Arteta played it coy on his potential involvement. He was taken off in the first half of the 2-1 defeat away to Rens the week before and was also withdrawn from England's squad for games against Australia and Italy.
"The forward reported to St. George’s Park on Monday alongside the rest of the Three Lions’ squad," the national team wrote in a statement of confirmation. "Having missed Arsenal’s Premier League win against Manchester City on Sunday through injury, Saka was assessed by the England medical team and it was decided the player would continue his rehabilitation at his club."
"He felt something and then you are tempted to risk him, but he was unable to train yesterday so that put him out of the game straight away," Arteta also explained. "It’s a blow not to have him but we have lost players in recent weeks and have adapted to it. He is a really important player, there is no question about that, but the team has to use the resources that we have to make it, even without him."
The Evening Standard now report that a return is still possible but will be decided later this week with a week of rehab and then the weekend off with the rest of the squad. He is set to be assessed on Monday. If Saka isn't available then it leaves a hole in the squad that was filled by Leandro Trossard at the Emirates Stadium eight days ago.
The 28-year-old has since become a doubt himself though after being taken off at half-time, replaced by Gabriel Martinelli. "Leo [Trossard] got injured and I looked and he [Martinelli] was already dressed up and ready to go," Arteta said afterwards. The boost is that Martinelli is ready having been out of the side in recent weeks with a hamstring strain.He [Martinelli] said I was going to be there, he was there in training and he said I am ready to go," the boss said. Luckily for Arsenal, Martinelli was left out of Brazil's squad for this set of fixtures and so will have the chance to rest and recover without long plane journeys.
The same, however, cannot be said for Thomas Partey. After his return to first-team action against City he was once more involved for Ghana, starting in their friendly against Mexico on Sunday. "Thomas was always only going to play 45 minutes," Chris Hughton said after the 30-year-old was taken off at half-time, sparking worries within the fanbase.
"He has been out injured for three to four weeks, he came back for Arsenal last midweek, was on the subs bench for one game and played 20 minutes for the next game. So we knew he was only going to play 45 minutes."
Ghana face USMNT on Wednesday morning and it will leave Partey a small window in which to travel back from America and build up ample fitness to play again on Saturday evening. However, his involvement will at least put some minutes back into his legs after such a long period out.
Unfortunately for Arteta, this is not the limit of his troubles with key centre-back William Saliba remaining a potential doubt. The Frenchman withdrew from France's squad due to a toe injury, one revealed after the City game indicating that he played through the match with the problem.
It is thought to be an ongoing issue for Saliba but football.london understands that it isn't a serious knock and that he could either recover or play on with the niggle once more. He has had two weeks to nurse it ahead of the Chelsea clash, at least.
Outside of that, it is still just the long-term absence of Jurrien Timber for Arteta to consider. The Dutch defender remains sidelined and will do until at least 2024.
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