Chelsea have taken the unconventional route of training with rugby pads to prepare for Sunday’s London derby with Premier League champions Arsenal at the Emirates. New manager Xabi Alonso has got his troops bracing for impact with big rugby pads. Both Valentin Barco and Pep Chavarria were spotted holding the crash pads while their team-mates crashed in them at Cobham.
Of course, Arsenal have many corner-taking techniques that made them the most successful side from set-pieces last season. With 22 goals to their names from dead balls, Alonso is prepping his troops for the potential onslaught at the Emirates Stadium this weekend, as reported by The Sun. Arsenal’s team of giants like to crash towards the goalkeeper and almost pressure the ball home in many instances.
But Chelsea do have the joint-tallest squad in the league – alongside Leeds – and may have the antidote. Chelsea have made an impressive start to the new Premier League season with two wins from two games and have scored seven goals in the process. However, they have also conceded five and are now facing Arsenal’s rock-solid defence, a backline that has not conceded in their first two outings.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are hoping to end a five-year winless run against Arsenal when the sides meet this weekend. Chelsea’s last victory over Arsenal came on 22 August 2021, when Romelu Lukaku and Reece James scored in a 2-0 win at the Emirates under Thomas Tuchel.
According to The Athletic, since then the Blues have gone without a win in all competitions against the Gunners, a sequence that includes several heavy defeats (notably the 5-0 thrashing in April 2024), multiple draws, and losses in both legs of the 2025-26 Carabao Cup semi-final as well as the Premier League meeting in March 2026.