Arsenal v Chelsea: Can the Gunners do what Barcelona couldn't?

Arsenal and Chelsea played out one of the games of the season in October when the Gunners fought back to win an eight-goal thriller at the Bridge. Today Wenger's men hope to erase the misery of losing to Wigan Athletic and complete their first double over the Blues for eight years.

However, the Gunners will have to defeat a Chelsea side with luck on their side. They booked their place in the FA Cup final, thanks in part to the referee awarding a goal that never crossed the line against Spurs, and have one foot in the Champions League final after seeing off the Spanish giants Barcelona 1-0. Roberto Di Matteo certainly looks like being a lucky charm for the Blues.

Chelsea's Didier Drogba has been superb in the past two games for Chelsea. He bullied Gallas and King at Wembley and did a tremendous job in breaking up play against Messi and co. Some may say that he spent more time on the floor than he did on his feet at the Bridge on Wednesday night, but he gave his team-mates a chance to catch their breath and an option up front. Unfortunately I don't think we will see him this weekend which will give Fernando Torres another chance to shine.

Arsenal will be without the impressive Mikel Arteta until the end of the season after damaging ankle ligaments against Wigan and that will be a massive blow for them, particularly as Wilshere's anticipated return has been delayed until next season. Since arriving at the Emirates, Arteta has been a regular for Wenger and his experience and ball retention skills have been lapped up. How will they cope without him as the battle for Champions League continues?

The Gunners won last season's meeting at the Emirates 3-1 and they start the day seven points ahead of Chelsea and five in front of Spurs and Newcastle. Defeat wouldn't be the end of the world but victory could see off Chelsea's challenge.

Chelsea have Lady Luck on their side but with the return leg against Barcelona on Tuesday night, will Di Matteo be tempted to rest some of his big names to keep them fresh and away from injuries? He'd be a fool not too. However, the Italian has enough top names to choose from to do a job here.

So who will come out on top? Our pundits are edging towards the Gunners.

Arsenal v Chelsea; Kick Off 12.45pm April 21 2012

Prediction Panel

Arsenal	Don McMahon	1	V	0
Aston Villa	Frank Pattison	2	V	1
Blackburn	Terry Kennedy	2	V	2
Bolton	Dave Blackburn	1	V	1
Chelsea	Joe Tyler	0	V	2
Everton	Chris Goodwin	2	V	2
Fulham	Neil Springate	2	V	1
Liverpool	Mark Williams	2	V	1
Man City	Callum Rothwell	1	V	2
Man Utd	Peter Lee	1	V	1
Newcastle	Michael Stout	2	V	1
Norwich City	Sue Read	2	V	3
QPR	Arjun Swaminathan	TBA	V	TBA
Stoke City	Philip Eccleston	2	V	1
Sunderland	Tony Ratton	2	V	1
Tottenham	Mike Richards	1	V	1
Swansea	Jim White	2	V	1
West Brom	Andy Wakeman	2	V	1
Wigan	Alan Moore	2	V	1
Wolves	Chris Cox	0	V	2
OUR EXPERTS
Writer	Colin Illingworth	3	V	2
Writer	Steve Coulter	2	V	0
Writer	Phil Bundy	1	V	2
Writer	Mitch Waddon	2	V	1
Writer	Matt Turner	TBA	V	TBA
Writer	Chris Pettitt	2	V	2
Writer	Hugh Larkin	2	V	2
Villa fan	Lynette Ranson	TBA	V	TBA
Blackpool fan	Phil Trow	2	V	1
Boro fan	Sue Gardener	TBA	V	TBA
Fulham fan	Russell Goldman	0	V	2
Pompey fan	Dan Taylor	2	V	2
Pompey fan	Peter Rendle	2	V	2
West Ham fan	Matthew Beeby	2	V	2
West Ham fan	Nigel Telfer	2	V	1
Editor	Antony Melvin	TBA	V	TBA

Panel Verdict

Arsenal are tipped to shade this and complete the double over the Blues.

Home: 15; Draw: 10; Away: 6. TBA 5

* Do we have it right or do you know better? We’d love to hear your views.

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