John Terry names Arsenal weakness Chelsea can ‘expose’ in huge Emirates clash

John Terry has backed Chelsea to produce a major statement at Arsenal on Sunday, predicting a 2-1 victory for Xabi Alonso’s side at the Emirates Stadium.

The former Chelsea captain believes his old club can exploit Arsenal’s defensive structure, particularly in wide areas, as the Blues face their first major test of the season.

Arsenal have opened their Premier League title defence with victories over Coventry City and Aston Villa, while Chelsea have also taken maximum points from their opening two matches against Fulham and Brighton.

Chelsea’s attacking performances have encouraged suggestions that Alonso’s side could challenge Arsenal for the title, despite conceding seven goals across those opening victories.

Terry identifies Arsenal weakness

Terry believes Chelsea’s best route to hurting Arsenal will be through rapid attacks into the channels and wide spaces behind their full-backs.

“How do you expose these centre-halves? Down the channels and down the outside, where I think we’re really strong in terms of Neto, Estevao and Morgan Rogers down that side as well, I think is going to be real key for me,” Terry said on his YouTube channel.

The former England defender explained that Arsenal’s centre-backs could become vulnerable if they are repeatedly dragged away from their preferred central positions.

“As soon as you get pulled into those wide areas, it feels very alien and you feel a little bit more exposed.”

Terry also pointed to the attacking positioning of Arsenal full-backs Ben White and Riccardo Calafiori as a potential area Chelsea could target on transitions.

“The more we can do that on the counter-attack at the weekend, I think we give ourselves a chance because Ben White and Calafiori both attack and just end up in those kinds of inverted pockets as well.”

His conclusion was straightforward: Chelsea should look to attack Arsenal “high and wide” when possession changes hands.

Chelsea backed to upset champions

Arsenal have not lost any of their last nine Premier League meetings with Chelsea, giving Mikel Arteta’s side a significant recent advantage in the fixture.

However, Terry believes Chelsea’s opening two victories should provide Alonso’s players with enough confidence to approach Sunday’s contest positively.

“I think the boys can only take confidence from our first two games.”

Terry also urged Chelsea supporters to embrace the occasion, while stressing that the result will not define Alonso’s entire campaign.

“We have to respect them. As I said, they’re a really good side. They’ve got goals in their side, good defensively, and a great midfield.”

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For Chelsea, however, the former defender sees the Emirates clash as an important early benchmark.

“It’s going to be a tough test, but a first real test.”

Terry ultimately went against the recent head-to-head record by predicting Chelsea to win 2-1, with João Pedro and Cole Palmer named as his scorers.

“I’m going 2-1 Chelsea win. I’m going Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer with the goals for Chelsea.”