John Terry claims Arsenal star ‘doesn’t like’ facing Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella

Chelsea legend John Terry says Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka ‘doesn’t like’ playing against Marc Cucurella and the ‘big battle’ could be key in determining the result of the London derby.

Arsenal are riding a nine-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League and hold a healthy six-point lead over third-placed Chelsea entering into today’s eagerly anticipated contest at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester City ensured they maintained the pressure on the Gunners at the top with a dramatic 3-2 win over Leeds on Saturday, a result that kept Pep Guardiola’s men within four points of the league leaders.

Following three successive runners-up finishes, Mikel Arteta’s side have established themselves as the favourites to lift the coveted trophy this season – 22 years on from their last triumph under Arsene Wenger.

And with Arsenal boasting the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues this season, a 1-0 defeat away to Liverpool back in August remains their only loss of the campaign after 12 games.

The north Londoners should also be encouraged by their statement midweek victory at home to Bayern Munich, a team they had not beaten in over a decade.

Arsenal were not the only English team to lay down a marker in the Champions League this week, though, with Chelsea having swept aside Barcelona in an impressive win just 24 hours earlier in the capital.

It could not have come at a better time for Enzo Maresca’s side, who appear to have hit their stride following a somewhat inconsistent start to the season both domestically and in Europe.

Maresca is also boosted be the impending return of Cole Palmer, who could be handed his first minutes since mid-September when Chelsea got the better of Manchester United.

‘It’s a massive boost for the football club to have such a top player back involved,’ ex-Chelsea captain Terry said of Palmer’s potential involvement on his TikTok page.

‘But also, more importantly for him, to potentially get 20 to 30 minutes of game-time in his legs so he’s ready for the rest of the season.’

Terry, a five-time Premier League winner with Chelsea, continued: ‘The manager has some big decisions to make after such a big performance against Barcelona in the week. Will he keep the same XI? w

‘Will Joao Pedro come down the middle as a No.9 or possibly Liam Delap? Will Pedro Neto move out to the left and Alejandro Garnacho on the left maybe?

‘I’m not sure, but whatever the manager’s been doing in recent weeks he’s certainly got it right and I’m sure he’ll make the same call again this weekend.’

Terry expects the battle between Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice in central midfielder will be crucial in deciding which team is able to get a foothold int he match.

According to Terry, the contest between Cucurella and Saka will be another intriguing match-up where Chelsea could gain the upper hand.

‘We have some battles in the middle of the park,’ he explained.

‘Moises Caicedo against Declan Rice… two outstanding players who have been superb for both clubs and been putting in man-of-the-match performances week after week so that’s going to be a big battle in the middle of the park

‘We have Saka against Cucurella that’s always a good battle. With them two, I’m not sure Saka likes the aggression from Cucurella.

‘But let me tell you, every Chelsea supporter [does like the aggression] so hopefully he brings that same energy and same intensity like he does always.’

Arsenal have become far and away the Premier League’s most effective team from set-pieces under Arteta over the last two seasons.

In a separate video on his TikTok page, Terry urged Chelsea’s players to ‘make it as difficult’ as possible for Arsenal by going man-to-man when defending the Gunners’ at set-plays.

‘Both teams have set-piece coaches and the importance of these set-piece coaches are vital to both Arsenal’s success and Chelsea’s success, from both attacking and defending corners,’ he said.

‘Let me tell you, set-pieces in training are the most boring thing and no one likes doing it, but the importance of it is vital and you can see that Arsenal have really bought into their set-piece coach and how much Mikel Arteta believes in it. You can see how much work they do on a daily basis.

‘But we [Chelsea] need to make sure that we’re ready from set-pieces right from the outset because Arsenal are very good and we need to make sure we’re ready to deal with that.

‘One they ofter do is when they have runners coming from around back. I would go man-to-man, give players a bit of responsibility, stop marking the zone in these big games.

‘Put me with an individual and go: “JT, that’s your man, you go and deal with him whatever way you have to deal with him, don’t let him get a run on you, don’t let him get a free header.”‘

Terry went on: ‘Make contact, make it as difficult as you possibly can and then make sure everyone is doing exactly the same around you, freeing up space for the goalkeeper to come and collect these crosses and take it away from Arsenal’s strengths as well.

‘That’s going to be a big topic because Arsenal are very good. We need to on our game and be ready for everything they throw at us.

‘But also from out set-pieces, let’s go and make a real difference in the opposition box and go and make sure we get a couple of goals.’

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