Chelsea face Arsenal on Tuesday night with Frank Lampard still looking for the first win of his second tenure in the Stamford Bridge dugout.
It couldn’t have gone any worse for the Blues legend since replacing Graham Potter - losing all five games he has taken charge of. It all means Chelsea are now facing the prospect of finishing outside of the top half for the first time in almost 30 years.
And although they have little to play for, they will have a massive say in the destination of the Premier League title. The Gunners host Chelsea looking to go back to the top of the table after Manchester City leapfrogged them at the weekend.
But Mikel Arteta’s side have their own struggles and haven’t won in the last four, with their thrashing away at City a particularly damaging result. Chelsea wouldn’t mind adding to their neighbours’ recent woes and in doing so, finally getting the Lampard era 2.0 off and running.
Here are the latest Chelsea stories from Mirror Football.
Arteta sends Auba message
Pierre-Emeriick Aubameyang has hardly had the best season, but could get a slice of revenge against his former employers. The striker was unceremoniously axed by Arteta, first stripping him of the captaincy, before sanctioning his permanent exit to Barcelona.
It could be an awkward reunion at the Emirates, with Aubameyang returning to the stadium for the first time since his exit. But Arteta has called on fans to give the Blues ace a warm welcome and asked them to remember the good times.
Arteta said: “Let's say thank you, pay respect and gratitude for what he was. He was an incredible player for us, scored a lot of goals, he was our captain, and he deserves that.”
Lampard agrees with Poch
Mauricio Pochettino looks almost certain to become the next Chelsea manager, but Lampard can understand why the Argentine wants to wait until the summer. The ex-Tottenham boss has impressed during talks and is the frontrunner to become the next permanent head coach.
But it’s now looking increasingly likely that he won’t take up the post until the end of the season, and Lampard has hinted he would do similar. “We are at that stage of the season now where we understand that we are not going to get into Europe,” :Lampard said.
“Other managers are probably going, ‘I’ll take a look at this and wait till pre-season when I can enforce what I want to do.’ It’s not silly on their part - we’ve got the top four in the run-in and that is going to be a difficult process of games.
Arsenal in for Guehi
The Gunners will be without William Saliba for Tuesday night’s meeting, and Mikel Arteta could turn to a familiar face to solve the problem permanently. Arsenal have struggled since the Frenchman went down with a back injury that could yet end his season.
Rob Holding has deputised in the middle of the defence but doesn’t look a long-term option. Arsenal are monitoring the former Chelsea defender who left for Crystal Palace in 2021.
But if a bid was to materialise, Chelsea bosses would have the chance to match it, thanks to a clause inserted into his sale. And if that doesn’t happen, the Blues would be in line for a windfall thanks to the sell-on incentives.
