David Seaman explains why Chelsea are at a disadvantage ahead of their London derby against Arsenal
Arsenal legend David Seaman has claimed that his former side would rather come up against Edouard Mendy than Kepa Arrizabalga when the Gunners face Chelsea on Sunday, 6 November.
Kepa has been ruled out with a foot injury that he picked up during the Blues' shock 4-1 defeat away at Brighton & Hove Albion on 29 October.
The Spaniard had been in superb form under Graham Potter, making ten appearances across competitions and keeping five clean sheets.
Kepa has been transformed since Potter took over from Thomas Tuchel after being second-choice under the latter.
He made just 15 appearances last season and kept eight clean sheets.
There had been rumors that Kepa could depart this past summer, with Barcelona having reportedly been interested in the Spanish shot-stopper.
Mendy replaced him in the Blues' defeat to Brighton and played in Potter's side's 2-1 win over Dynamo Zagreb in the Champions League on 2 November.
The Senegalese has made eight appearances, keeping just one clean sheet.
Seaman believes that Arsenal would rather be playing against Mendy than Kepa.
He said on his Seaman Says podcast (via Daily Mail):
"At this moment, you’d rather face Mendy because he hasn’t played for a while. Kepa has been playing really well, there’s no doubt about that. He’s been making some big saves."
🗣️ “We started ok, not so good and not so bad. We can improve.”
Chelsea stopper Kepa Arrizabalaga on their start to the new season. 🇪🇸 https://t.co/Lexz0vqyEP
Chelsea are up against an Arsenal side that are in superb form and whose attack has wreaked havoc in the Premier League this season.
The Gunners are top of the table with 10 wins, one draw and one defeat in 12 games.
They are the second-highest scorers in the league with 30 goals.
Potter's men trail Mikel Arteta's side in sixth with six wins, three draws and as many defeats in 12.
Manchester United legend Patrice Evra has tipped Arsenal to beat Chelsea
Evra believes that Arsenal will come out victorious at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Frenchman has suggested that the Blues should perform better than they are at the moment.
He told Betfair:
"I don’t know what’s happened with Chelsea. You see they have made some progress, they’ve got a great manager, but I still feel like they don’t quite know yet. With the players they have they should be doing better than they are doing right now."
Meanwhile, he has lauded the Gunners and believes they are more prepared for the game than their London rivals:
"It’s a London derby and Arsenal are back winning with style and they are scoring lots of goals. Arsenal are much more prepared than Chelsea for this one and I can see them continuing their good run."
Chelsea have only won ONE of their last six games vs Arsenal in all competitions 😳😬 https://t.co/jho8WU95Eh
Evra tipped Arteta's men to win 3-1 in what would be a major boost to their title credentials and a statement of intent.