William Gallas has predicted a hard-fought battle between Chelsea and Arsenal during their Premier League fixture on Saturday, November 5.
Both London teams won their European encounters this week, although the Gunners are currently 10 points clear of Graham Potter’s side in the Premier League standings.
Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League table, while the Blues are aiming to bounce back from their diabolical 4-1 defeat against Brighton in their last time out.
Gallas played for both clubs during his career and is all aware of how intense this fixture can be. When the former French defender was questioned by Genting Casino about his prediction for the encounter, he believes it will end in a draw, as he proclaimed:
“Chelsea vs Arsenal is a London derby, so I expect to see a good performance from both teams. I expect it will be very intense, with an electric atmosphere. But I will go for a draw because after the Brighton game, Chelsea have to respond well.
“Arsenal won 5-0 against Nottingham Forest so they will go to Stamford Bridge with high confidence. I think it will be very interesting to watch, I think it will be open because both have to win. Neither will go for a draw, but in the end I think it will be a draw.”
Wiliam Gallas believes Arsenal ‘have gone to the next level’ ahead of Chelsea encounter
Following their draw with Southampton, Gallas commented that fans would be able to say a lot about Mikel Arteta’s side by how they bounced back against Nottingham Forest.
Suffice to say, a 5-0 victory over Forest sent a clear message to the rest of the division, as Gallas explained:
“I think the win against Nottingham Forest shows us that Arsenal have gone to the next level, if we compare them to previous Gunners sides. So they had a good response by winning 5-0, which was very important, because they are top of the league and still putting pressure on Manchester City.
“It’s a long season, but with that message of winning 5-0, it’s really good for the club and the players because they have to play the next game against Chelsea and they have confidence.”
He added:
“They are not afraid to play the way they want to play. It’s always better to go to Stamford Bridge looking for a victory because when you play the game like this you need to have all that confidence around you, that’s why those three points will help them a lot to have a good result there.”
The last time these two teams met was in April when Arsenal thumped Chelsea 4-2 at Stamford Bridge.