Aliadière points out Estevao as the biggest threat ahead of Chelsea vs Arsenal

This weekend, Chelsea and Arsenal will collide in a vital clash in the Premier League title race. Prior to the game, we spoke with former Gunners star Jeremie Aliadière, who considers Estevao to be the biggest threat for the Blues heading into the derby.

In an interview with AceOdds.com, Jeremie Aliadière spoke about the upcoming match between Arsenal and Chelsea, where he gave us his combined XI, spoke about the comparison between Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice and who the biggest threats are for Chelsea.

Rice is better than Caicedo

When discussing Caicedo and Rice, Aliadière made it clear that he considers them to be very different kinds of players.

“For me, Caicedo and Rice are different players. I do feel they play in a different way, as Declan Rice is more offensive. His technical quality is better than Caicedo`s, I would say.”

“I know they were bought for around the same money. One thing where Caicedo might be slightly better than Rice is the defensive job. He might be a better defensive defender, but in terms of everything else like passing, scoring goals, running, etc I do think Rice is a better player.”

In fact, Aliadière thinks Caicedo is more similar to Zubimendi, while Rice is more similar to Enzo Fernandez.

“But Caicedo is a good player and he is doing a fantastic job for Chelsea. He has been very strong. I would compare him more to Zubimendi actually, because Rice is more advanced. For Chelsea, Enzo might remind me more of Rice.”

Estevao is Chelsea’s biggest threat

The young Brazilian has impressed a lot since joining Chelsea and the Premier League, and Aliadière even believes Arsenal should be concerned about the impact he could have on Sunday.

“I think we have to look at Estevao. The way he has been scoring goals at just 19 years of age, the kid is just great.”

“I think Estevao is a top player but I do feel like Chelsea is playing like a team rather than just individuals. Neto is good, the midfield players can hurt you of course. They are really strong. A really strong team.”

“They are missing Cole Palmer of course, he is a great individual player. But I watched the game against Barcelona and I really thought they were great. They were really good and strong. It will be a very tough match for Arsenal.”

Aliadere still believes that Arsenal are the stronger team, and he expects them to beat Chelsea this weekend.

“I still believe that Arsenal are too strong. If they keep performing like they have done, I can`t see Chelsea beating us, but we have to admit that they have a very strong team as well.”

Estevao has slowly but surely evolved into one of the most exciting young prospects in not just the Premier League, but all of Europe over the course of the last few months. This weekend, he is priced at 15/8 to score or assist - and if you fancy backing that, you can do so by using our bet365 bonus code.

Chelsea are the strongest contenders for the title

With the start Arsenal have had, there is probably no doubt that they are the favourites to win the Premier League title. Liverpool and Manchester City, on the other hand, have failed to live up to expectations.

Chelsea are now second in the Premier League and Aliadière warns Arsenal that they should be taken very seriously, as they are now the team to beat.

“Footbal changes from one week to the other, and the only teams people have talked about this season to compete with Arsenal was Man City and Liverpool. Now, people might have woken up, because who is second in the league now? That is Chelsea.”

“They are not making much noise, but they are slowly winning games and getting up there. They are only six points behind Arsenal and if they win in the weekend they will be just three points behind. It is a huge game for Chelsea.”

“I will tell you now with one hundred million percent, Chelsea is the main contender for Arsenal. Liverpool and Man City lost in the weekend and in the Champions League, and you are just thinking that we should stop focusing on Liverpool and Man City and start focusing on Chelsea because they are the team to look at. We should take Chelsea very seriously and go there to try not to lose the game.”

Combined Arsenal and Chelsea XI

When asked about his combined XI, Aliadière decided to go with a 4-3-3 formation, and this was the team he selected:

Raya, Timber, Mosquera, Saliba, Calafiori, Caicedo, Rice, Eze, Saka, Joao Pedro, Estevao

Aliadière starts off by saying that it is tough for him to find any Chelsea players to include, but as you can see above, he did find space for two Chelsea players, and here is his explanation for his whole combined XI.

“It`s tough to make a combined XI, and I can`t say I have too many Chelsea players in there. I would have Raya in goal all day long, I think he is the better goalkeeper.”

“At the moment Timber is just unreal so I will put him as my right back. I have to go with him. At centre back it is quite easy, just Gabriel and Saliba. But because Gabriel is injured, I will pick Mosquera. I like Fofana though, he is a good defender”

“At left back I have to go for Calafiori. Cucurella is doing well but I have to choose Calafiori. At the central midfield I will go with Caicedo and Rice. Caicedo is very strong. Enzo is doing really well, but I will choose Eze as the number 10.”

“And then I really like Joao Pedro as a number nine. I really like him. Every time I watch him play, I am always thinking that I really like him. He is my number nine, and then I will choose Estevao. I don`t like Garnacho. I can`t bear the player. Just not a big fan of his. Saka of course is on the right wing.”

Read more as Jeremie Aliadière analyses Arsenal's ability to win this season's Champions League