The Gunners have a very strong and competitive squad, and they are being seen by many as genuine title contenders.
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As Arsene Wenger prepares to take charge of his 20th season as Arsenal manager, his list of significant trophies reads – three Premier League titles and six FA Cup final successes.
And Flamini’s contribution yesterday will increase tensions between the clubs.
Wenger also reiterated that Alexis Sanchez will return to North London at the weekend to begin his pre-season preparations after helping Chile win the Copa America earlier this month, but obviously he won’t be fit enough to play any part against Chelsea. “Not only when things go well but especially when things go bad”.
Kick-off at Wembley is set for 4pm South African time.
Arsenal won the FA Cup for the second successive season in May and finished third in the Premier League – 12 points behind winners Chelsea.
The Blues, Premier League champions under Jose Mourinho last season, are paying $2.37 at bet365 to come out on top in the exhibition clash.
This year, with the arrival of Colombian striker Radamel Falcao and Bosnia’s Asmir Begovic, replacing Didier Drogba and Petr Cech, respectively, Fabregas is enthusiastic to compete for the Champions League title. “If I didn’t think that, then it would mean we were standing still”, he said.
“If you remember before, there were always a few players leaving and now he is keeping the players together and that’s very important”.
Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has revealed that he still loves Arsenal despite now playing for their better rivals.
“If you put [Mesut] Ozil plus [Alexis] Sanchez, plus [Calum] Chambers, plus [Mathieu] Debuchy you will maybe find a surprise”. It is not that they made big splashes in the transfer market, though they have upgraded at goalkeeper with the acquisition of Petr Cech from Chelsea.
With the 33-year-old arriving, the Gunners have allowed Wojciech Szczesny to join Roma on a season-long loan.
But the Frenchman dismissed Mourinho’s claims, pointing instead to his record of bringing through young players to the first team.
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“I rate him highly”.
