Chambers and Ozil start, Predicted Arsenal lineup (4-2-3-1) vs Chelsea

Arsenal are scheduled to host Chelsea in their final Premier League game before the turn of the year.

The Gunners have struggled with their league form over the past three months and they are presently languishing in the bottom half of the standings with an eight-point gap to the Blues, who are holding onto the final Champions League spot.

The north London giants have picked up just one win from 11 top-flight matches but the players should be up for the London derby, which will witness Mikel Arteta manage his first home game with the club.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Predicted Lineup:

Bernd Leno has been kept busy in goal throughout the season and he came up with three saves against Bournemouth in the 1-1 draw on Boxing Day. The German has barely made a wrong decision over the past few months and he is expected to start in goal.

The defence may witness the solitary change from the previous match with Sokratis making way for Calum Chambers, who recently served a one-match suspension after accumulating five yellow cards.

Sokratis would have been unavailable anyway due to the concussion protocols after being substituted for a head knock against Bournemouth earlier in the week.

In the midfield, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira have impressed as a pair and the Gunners are unbeaten in the past three games, they have played together.

The duo impressed with their long-ball distribution in particular against Bournemouth on Boxing Day and Xhaka managed to successfully deliver in 11 of this 12 attempts.

In the attack, Mesut Ozil should continue in the number 10 role. The German got into a number of good attacking positions against the Cherries but he was let down by the likes of Bukayo Saka and Reiss Nelson, who struggled with their crossing.

Elsewhere, Reiss Nelson may drop to the bench for the return of Nicolas Pepe to the starting XI. The Ivorian looked energised during a cameo display in midweek, where he managed three take-ons in 10 minutes. He should be fancied to feature on the right wing.

With Gabriel Martinelli still doubtful with a tight hamstring. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should continue on the left side of the attack with Alexandre Lacazette leading the line.

Lacazette definitely needs a huge improvement on the performance at the Vitality Stadium where he was poor with his finishing and distribution in the final third of the pitch.