Start to life at Chelsea for Graham Potter has been pretty steady after 11 games. The Blues have won seven, drew three and suffered only one defeat but talk of whether he'll be given time by Todd Boehly has already begun.
Chelsea currently find themselves sat seventh in the Premier League table after Brighton's 3-2 win over Wolves on Saturday. However, victory over Arsenal today would see them go level on points with Newcastle in fourth and overtake Manchester United. But they face Arsenal.
The Gunners are one point behind Manchester City at the top of the league after the Citizens snatched a last gasp winner against Fulham on Saturday. Mikel Arteta's side have lost one league game all season and have enjoyed one of their best starts to a Premier League season with 10 victories from 12 games.
READ MORE: Graham Potter honest Chelsea failure proves why he can break Thomas Tuchel trend
Chelsea have not defeated their London rivals at Stamford Bridge for four years now, suffering back-to-back home defeats to Arsenal after going nine games without defeat prior. Should Chelsea lose and Newcastle overcome Southampton later on, the Blues will be six points off the Champions League places.
Finishing in the top four has become a welcomed tradition in west London, with them missing out on Champions League football in 2018. After Boehly invested over £270 million in the summer, a top four finish is likely to be the minimum required this season.
But will Potter's position be at risk if he fails to guide the club to a top four finish? Most likely not. However, Sky Sports pundits Clinton Morrison and Kris Boyd have disagreed on Potter's future when discussing the Blues' chances of finishing in the top four.
"He has to get them in the top four," Morrison said. "The squad of players that they've got, they should be in the top four. If they're not in top four, he ain't getting two transfer windows. [Kris Boyd disagreed]. What, so at the end of the season, if they're not in the top four, you still think he'll be in charge?
"It's happened before. I know it's new owners but you never know. I can guarantee you, if he doesn't get in that top four, he'll be under huge pressure. I don't think he should be under pressure. and I think he should be given time, but at Chelsea, they do expect."
Boyd refused to budge regarding his stance on Potter and Chelsea, defending Boehly's decision to sack Thomas Tuchel earlier this season. He said: "The last manager was sacked because he didn't agree with the vision that was coming from the hierarchy at Chelsea. They've obviously hired a manager that's going to go along with their vision. You can't, after a year, turn around and clear him out.
"You're always going to be under pressure. As a manager, you're under pressure. You look at the amount of money that they've obviously spent and given to Brighton, rightly so, to take the whole coaching staff, you're not going to turn around in six/seven months because you lose a game of football that you need to go.
"You're going to have to build the club again. There was a clean out at Chelsea when the whole Abramovich, Petr Cech and that lost their jobs. It is [top four required], there's no doubt about it but you can't just say, 'right everybody out'."
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