Eto’o the danger man as Chelsea bid to see off Arsenal

It’s make or break time for Arsenal as they bid to close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League this Saturday lunchtime. Win and it’s down to one point with a game in hand, but lose and it’s a gaping seven-point deficit with tough fixtures against Manchester City at home and Everton away just around the corner.

Coral bet 2/1 Chelsea winning the title and 14/1 Arsenal, but the visitors will be out with the washing if they fail to get anything from this crucial London derby.

Arsene Wenger will be celebrating 1,000 games in charge at Arsenal, a fantastic achievement, but the more relevant figures are 75 and 10; 75 for the number of games since Chelsea have lost under Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge and ten for the unbeaten run enjoyed by the Portuguese over the Frenchman.

You feel those records need to be broken if the Gunners are to have a serious chance of winning their first Premier League title since 2004. A draw would be commendable in the normal scheme of things, but a victory would not just be a boost mathematically, it would also instil real belief in the Arsenal squad.

The signs don’t look great. Yes, they are on a good run at the moment, their 1-0 win at Spurs last Sunday coming after a 4-1 victory over Everton in the FA Cup and a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

But they are currently without Theo Walcott, Aaron Ramsey, Jack Wilshere and Mesut Ozil – arguably their four best players – and that is bound to start taking a toll as the big fixtures continue to come thick and fast.

Chelsea suffered a surprise setback at Aston Villa last weekend and their loss of discipline means they will now be without Ramires, sent off for that horrible tackle, as well as Willian, who was less deserving of a red card.

But they enjoyed a confidence-restoring stroll in midweek against Galatasaray, a 2-0 win that included a second goal in three games for Samuel Eto’o.

That’s ten for the season in all competitions for the 33-year-old Cameroonian and although he’s not the world class striker he used to be, he still possesses the guile and the skill to be a handful for any defence.

It would be no surprise to see Eto’o on the mark again (5/4 to score, 5/1 first or last) to help inflict a damaging defeat, maybe 2-0 (8/1) on their title rivals and spoil Wenger’s party.