They
have traded victories like heavyweight boxers swapping mighty punches over the
years, slugging it out for league titles, FA Cups and European glory wear cheap
soccer cleats. But when Arsenal and Chelsea meet at
Emirates Stadium on Saturday, they will do so united not only in their desire
to wrest back power from the Manchester clubs - the title having gone north in
five of the past six seasons - but also in their philosophies on the field. In
recent years Chelsea
have been everything Arsenal have not: big, strong, powerful, insatiable and
highly experienced when it comes to the art of winning matches and trophies
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Roman Abramovich intent on recasting the club as an homage to the artistry
achieved by Pep Guardiola during his Barcelona tenure, Chelsea have changed.
"This will be different from just about any Arsenal-Chelsea game for a
long, long time," former Chelsea
winger Pat Nevin told BBC Sport. "Chelsea
are a different team now, they play a different style wear adidas f50 adizero trx. It is not
just the personnel, it is the entire way they play." The old Chelsea, obsessed with
order and a craving for control bequeathed to them by former manager Jose Mourinho,
were masters of gradually exerting their authority, draining the game of drama
and their opponents of hope. But that machine has crumbled into disrepair - Chelsea are human again
wear nike mercurial vapor 8. The new-look
side are a far more helter-skelter, kamikaze outfit, still experimenting with
an unfamiliar style, with all the flaws, foibles and fragilities that entails.
Some £80m of summer investment has seen rare attacking gems such as Oscar, Eden
Hazard and Marko Marin arrive. Manager Roberto Di Matteo has a side at his
disposal that is bristling with menace, attacking players who swap places at
will, eluding markers, confounding plans, dismantling systems wear nike mercurial vapor 9. But it is
early days. "It is a totally different set-up," Nevin added.
"There are no similarities to the way Chelsea have played for the last decade to
the way they play now. "Chelsea
used to play a long, direct game and while they had skilful, direct players it
was often about pace and power, as well as good technical finishing. But you
look at the Chelsea
midfielders down the years and there have not been that many of them playing
defence-splitting passes - it wasn't really their methodology wear cheap
nike soccer cleats. "Look at Chelsea now, it's Oscar, it's Hazard, it's
Mata. Their entire game is to play those little passes through small gaps in
the defence." Arsenal, too, are a different side. Their disappointment in
the transfer market has been eased by a series of performances that have served
as a reminder of the quality within their squad. Lukas Podolski wear cheap
adidas soccer cleats and Santi Cazorla, two summer
acquisitions, have been at the heart of encouraging performances against
Liverpool at Anfield and Manchester
City at Etihad Stadium.
There are signs there is a new steel, an extra resilience about Arsenal this
season. That will be put to the test again on Saturday. "Chelsea
have made it very difficult for Arsenal in the past, but Chelsea are much more like Arsenal these
days," Nevin wear nike mercurial vapor superfly iii added.
"For the purists this could be one of the most attractive matches for many
years. Chelsea are top of the league, champions
of Europe but they are outsiders in my view.
Arsenal have been playing this way for so long, Chelsea are newcomers. They have played well
this season, but now is when we will find out if they are the real deal."
Off the field the ideologies remain worlds apart. While Abramovich wear adidas adipure 11pro has flirted with
the idea of long-term blueprints and four-year plans, his insatiable desire for
instant success and gratification has seen 10 Chelsea managers come and go during Wenger's
16-year tenure at Arsenal. If Chelsea have become a club intoxicated by the
present at the expense of the future, Wenger has been accused of planning for
the future to the detriment of today wear nike mercurial vapor superfly iii.
From the boardroom to the boot room, the Frenchman has imbued the club with an
ethos of youth, but seven years without a trophy have led many to question Wenger
and his methods wholesale
soccer cleats. Arsenal are a club still waiting for their
future, that golden age, to come back around. Chelsea's ambition has carried them to glory,
albeit with something of a scattergun approach. "In Britain we like stability,"
says Nevin. "Wenger at Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson at United, David Moyes
at Everton. But to be fair it has not been an unsuccessful spell for Chelsea wear nike ctr360 maestri ii elite. There
is more than one way to organise a squad, a club. "It is not the way I
would do it. I have been a chief executive of a football club and I did not
want to move things around in the way Chelsea
have done. But despite that they have managed to become champions of Europe, managed to win leagues wear nike tiempo legend iv elite.
"Yes they have spent a lot of money but that is not always a guarantee of
success. They may go for the gun a bit too quickly but the replacement is
always good." Both teams are in transition, teams with flaws and
imperfections, but that promises to make this encounter all the more enthralling
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Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has signed
a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2020 wear discount
soccer cleats. Pardew originally signed a
five-and-a-half-year deal when he succeeded Chris Hughton in December 2010.
However, the 51-year-old has been rewarded for guiding Newcastle to fifth place in last season's
Premier League and a spot in the Europa League. Coaches John Carver, Steve
Stone and Andy Woodman have also been given new eight-year contracts wear cheap
soccer cleats. In June, chief scout Graham Carr was given
a contract to keep him at the club until 2020, when he will be 75. Managing
director Derek Llambias said Newcastle
want continuity to match English football's top clubs. "If you look at
clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal, Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger wear
nike mercurial vapor 8 have shown
that stability gives you the best platform to achieve success and that is the
model we wish to emulate here," he commented. "We're looking to build
on the success we had last season and these new contracts are aimed at keeping
the club progressing on and off the pitch wear nike mercurial vapor 9, as we have
done since returning to the Premier League in 2010." Former Reading, West
Ham, Charlton and Southampton manager Pardew was named the manager of the
2011-12 season by both the Premier League and League Managers' Association wear
adidas predator lz. He became the
first Englishman to win both awards in the same season. Newcastle, who had
finished 12th the previous season but been expected to struggle after losing
several key players, won 19 of their 38 league games, keeping 15 clean sheets.
Llambias wear adidas f50 adizero trx added:
"Alan has done a fantastic job over the last couple of years and has
proved what a great Premier League manager he is. "I have total respect
for him in all football matters and have an excellent relationship with him,
which I think benefits the club enormously wear nike ctr360 maestri ii elite.
"Alan also has one of the best backroom teams in the country and I would
like to thank John Carver, Steve Stone, and Andy Woodman for all their combined
efforts wear adidas adipure 11pro." The
former Crystal Palace
and Charlton midfielder started his managerial career with a four-year stint at
Reading, which
ended with him resigning and taking over at West Ham in 2003. After taking the
Hammers to the 2006 FA Cup final he was sacked six months later and after
spells with Charlton and Southampton he took over at Newcastle in 2010 wear nike tiempo legend iv elite.