Arsenal vs Chelsea: Rob Holding says Frank Lampard’s side have ‘upper hands’ over Gunners

Rob Holding believes Chelsea have one ‘advantage’ over Arsenal ahead of their huge Premier League clash on Tuesday night.

Arsenal host Chelsea knowing that anything less than victory at the Emirates will all but end their chances of beating Manchester City to the title.

Following three painful draws and a 4-1 defeat at the Etihad last week, the Gunners have lost their place at the top of the table, with City now ahead by a point with a game in hand.

Prior to their crucial Premier League match on Tuesday night, Rob Holding thinks Chelsea has one “advantage” over Arsenal.

Arsenal hosts Chelsea with the knowledge that a loss will almost certainly destroy their aspirations of unseating Manchester City for the title.

The Gunners have lost their position at the top of the league to City, who are now ahead by a point with a match still to play, following three heartbreaking draws and a 4-1 loss at the Etihad last week.

Mikel Arteta’s team must get back to winning ways against the Blues who haven’t won in eight and have lost all five of their games under interim manager Frank Lampard by a combined score of 9-1.

But after dropping points against relegation battlers West Ham and Southampton in recent weeks, Holding is wary that they cannot take their opponents for granted and the defender shares his manager’s concern over Chelsea’s huge squad depth.

Prior to their crucial Premier League match on Tuesday night, Rob Holding thinks Chelsea has one “advantage” over Arsenal.

Arsenal hosts Chelsea with the knowledge that a loss will almost certainly destroy their aspirations of unseating Manchester City for the championship.

The Gunners have lost their position at the top of the league to City, who are now ahead by a point with a match still to play, following three heartbreaking draws and a 4-1 loss at the Etihad last week.

‘I don’t know what their approach will be. It is very difficult to predict what they will do because they can play in various ways with different players and different qualities as well,’ Arteta said in his pre-match press conference on Monday.

Lampard has already utilized a broad range of different players and formations since returning to Stamford Bridge, but with minimal success, in part due to their significant spending spree.

‘That plays into their advantage because we don’t really know what to expect,’ Holding told Arsenal’s official website.

‘We know the quality of players they have. Frank Lampard is back there now, a club legend so he might get them going for a London derby, you never know.

‘We know they’re not on a great run right now, but in a London derby anything can happen. You’ve just got to be ready for anything.

 

‘It’s a little bit of the unknown but we’ll do as much prep as we can here, focus on ourselves and hopefully get the three points.’

Holding thinks Arsenal can still defy the odds if they stay focused and win their final five games despite the fact that City are widely favored to finish the season unbeaten and win the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League as well.

‘We’ve got five games to go now and we have to worry about what we can control, which are those five games,’ the 27-year-old added.

‘If we get maximum points, what will happen in the other games elsewhere will happen, and we’ll see where we are at the other end of the season.

‘We’ve secured qualification for the Champions League next year which was one of the big goals at the start of the year, so that’s a nice positive to take, but we’ve still got five games left. If we can get 15 points from them we’ll see where it leaves us at the end of the season.’