Arsenal host Chelsea this Sunday in what has suddenly turned into the biggest game of the season. The end of the Premier League season is near, and Chelsea are attempting to wrap up the title. A win against Arsenal, will leave the West London side only needing three more points to be crowned Champions of England 2015. James Spiking speaks to Read Arsenal’s Alex Burns, ahead of the massive game.
Q1) What have you made of Chelsea this season? Are they worthy winners or have they rode their luck?
Alex) Fantastic manager with a fantastic team. Worthy winners all day long, Mourinho set out his side and the start of the campaign to win the league, he bought three players, and brought one back from on-loan, they’ve deserved to win the league by an absolute country mile which is a shame because that’ll be four league titles in over 10 years, three under Mourinho. Manchester City don’t have world-class in every position nor have a world-class manager in my opinion. They’ve been great but I think they need to sign a top, top defender to challenge in Europe again.
Q2) Was you impressed with Chelsea’s summer and winter windows? Not only the players they brought in, but who they offloaded for the prices they sold for?
Alex) I thought Chelsea’s summer window was sensational, pinpoint targets, buy, and ultimately has played a huge part in Chelsea’s title challenge. I wasn’t impressed with Jose’s January window though, yes Cuadrado is a top player but you’ve effectively decreased his value for me, he doesn’t play regularly and could become another Salah, despite Salah doing well at Fiorentina. Selling Schürrle for that money was very good business but for me, Schürrle is better than Cuadrado
Q3) Would you agree that the signings of Cesc and Costa were crucial for Chelsea to win the title this year?
Alex) Yes I agree that Cesc and Costa have played huge parts in this season’s title ambitions, Fabregas creates and Costa scores, goals made in Spain. Despite Costa being banned once or twice and Cesc’s stats petering out slightly, they’ve been crucial.
Q4) What do you think about the ‘Campaign Against Chelsea’ do you agree that they have been hard-done-by at points in the season, or has it been equalled out by some of the luckier decisions they have had?
Alex) Yes and no. Against Burnley at Stamford Bridge, Ashley Barnes should’ve been sent off but Matic should never have reacted, they’ve been hard-done by this season but when nearly the entire team surrounds the referee after a tackle, which annoys me and should be stopped.
Q5) What do you think of Eden Hazard? Will he be up there with the world’s best in the coming years?
Alex) He’s a gem of a player to watch, and I personally cannot wait to see him live in a stadium on Sunday. He’s the best player in the Premier League hands down and in the top five in the world for me. His dribbling, skill and desire is brilliant. He’s Chelsea and Belgium’s future.
Q6) Jose Mourinho is a talented manger, who gets a lot of stick from opposition fans. What are your thoughts on the Chelsea boss?
Alex) Jose Mourinho is my favourite manager for tactics and ability but his whinging and constant digs at Arsene Wenger and after calling him a specialist in failure having not won a trophy in two years himself, that did it for me. He lacks class towards other managers sometimes and he can’t take losing which is understandable but I don’t like his personality sometimes. Don’t get me wrong though, ability wise he is the best in the world.
Q7) If you had to take 3 players from Chelsea to Arsenal, who would it be, and why?
Alex) This is very hard because there are so many to choose from but I’ll have to go for Thibaut Courtois, Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard. Courtois gets into our team hands down and is a world-class keeper, Kurt Zouma has had a great season and has a bright future and we need a centre-back to partner Koscielny and being both French, it’s a no-brainer, finally I’d take Eden Hazard, with Özil, Sanchez and Giroud around him, his goals and assists will rocket, I also think we need another world-class winger.
Q8) Last time at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea won 2-0. What went wrong for the Gunners in that fixture, and what will they need to do in order to improve?
Alex) I think we were probably the better side personally. Our fans were magnificent that day too, we just lacked a cutting edge, had we had Costa I think we may have had a share of the spoils or even more. I think Wenger showed intent with an attacking side and were unlucky after giving away a penalty, but we never (or rarely) win at Stamford Bridge.
Q9) Score predictions (and scorers) for the game?
Alex) We’ve won eight in a row in the league and we’ve lost just twice at home since August 2013. Therefore I think it’ll be a draw although I’d love to say we are going to win, but I’d rather draw than lose with Manchester United on our tails. Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea (Sanchez, Hazard)
