The 2026-27 Premier League season features an early blockbuster clash as Arsenal host Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Given their transfer dealings in the summer and their start to the season, Xabi Alonso's side have been tipped as title challengers to the defending champions and will vie for bragging rights in London.
Mikel Arteta's side come into this game on the back of a 1-0 win away to Aston Villa and a 3-0 win over Coventry to start the season. Chelsea, meanwhile, have been in free-scoring form, netting seven goals in their wins over Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion, but also letting in five.
Here's everything you need to know about the match.
How to watch:
The match will be available to watch on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League in the U.K., NBC/USA in the U.S.A., JioHotstar in India, and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates here.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: Sunday, September 6, 11:30 a.m.
UK BST: Sunday, September 6, 4:30 p.m.
India IST: Sunday, September 6, 9 p.m.
Australia AEST: Monday, September 7, 1:30 a.m.
Venue: Emirates Stadium, London, England
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
VAR: Darren England
Injury and Team News
Arsenal
Jurriën Timber, D: ankle, OUT
William Saliba, D: back, OUT
Chelsea
Moisés Caicedo, M: knock, DOUBT
Marco Palestra, M: discomfort, DOUBT
Jordan Henderson, M: wrist, OUT
Expected Lineups
Arsenal Predicted XI (4-3-3)
David Raya
Ben White | Cristhian Mosquera | Gabriel Magalhães | Riccardo Calafiori
Declan Rice | Martin Ødegaard | Myles Lewis-Skelly
Bukayo Saka | Kai Havertz | Christos Tzolis
Chelsea Predicted XI (3-4-2-1)
Emiliano Martínez
Wesley Fofana | Maxence Lacroix | Levi Colwill
Pedro Neto | Malo Gusto | Romeo Lavia | Jorrel Hato
Cole Palmer | Morgan Rogers
João Pedro
Talking Points
Has Andrea Berta undermined Mikel Arteta?
Mikel Arteta stressed the need for Arsenal's attack to go to another level following their UEFA Champions League final defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last season. The brief for Andrea Berta was clear -- and there were high profile chases of Julián Álvarez, Vinicius Jr. and Morgan Rogers -- with none materialising.
Instead, Arteta goes into the first half of the Premier League season with an arguably weaker attack -- Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli have both left, with Christos Tzolis the only left-winger in the squad. Arsenal do boast of plenty of quality that can also feature on the left -- like Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke -- but an injury to an untested Tzolis (who looked lost against the physicality of Villa in Arsenal's previous game) could undermine Arsenal's title ambitions.
Yet, it could be Arsenal's midfield and defence that might carry them to the title again -- having only let in one shot on target and a paltry 0.5 xG across both games so far. The blueprint against Chelsea might be much the same, and Arteta will hope that his attacking trio of Martin Ødegaard, Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka will have enough to deal with Xabi Alonso's side.
Will Alonso opt for a circumspect approach?
Chelsea have been quite gung-ho in their approach to the season so far, scoring seven and letting in five in the league. Much of it had to do with the personnel Xabi Alonso had at his disposal -- Enzo Fernandes was on his way out of the club and Moises Caicedo was nursing an injury -- which meant Romeo Lavia was the only real central midfielder he had, alongside Reece James and Malo Gusto operating in makeshift roles.
Missing out on Lamine Camara from AS Monaco left Chelsea 'fuming', although Caicedo's return should suffice for Alonso. The lack of midfield protection meant Alonso threw caution to the wind, and Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro dovetailed beautifully in Chelsea's attack.
They will come up against the best defence in the league (even if it is shorn of William Saliba), so perhaps Alonso might prefer a more circumspect approach away to the defending champions. The likes of Rogers and Emiliano Martinez will certainly be keen to get one over on Arsenal, the latter having formerly played for the North London side while the former almost joined them this summer.
What do the numbers say?
Chelsea have not beaten Arsenal in the Premier League in the last nine games between the two sides (0-3-6 W-D-L).
Arsenal have only lost one of their last 29 PL London derbies (22-6-1 W-D-L) and are unbeaten in the last 16.
Chelsea's last win at the Emirates stadium in the league came in August 2021, a 2-0 victory. Mikel Arteta's side has since won all four PL games against Chelsea at home by an aggregate scoreline of 11-2.
Cole Palmer could join Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Diego Costa as the only Chelsea players to score 50 PL goals inside 100 games.
Bukayo Saka could become the first Arsenal player since Alexandre Lacazette in 2020-21 to score in the first three games of the season.
