The Blues manager revealed that his side will be without their captain amidst defensive issues ahead of the London derby. Goal looks at who he will pick at the Emirates Stadium
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has several selection dilemmas to sort out ahead of Saturday's game against Arsenal, as his side aim to bounce back from recent setbacks.
The Blues are missing bodies in a defence that has been conceding too many goals, while Cesc Fabregas is a strong contender for a starting shirt after putting in a great showing in the EFL Cup in midweek.
Conte's men have conceded two goals in each of their last three games against Swansea, Liverpool and Leicester City, and face an Arsenal side who are seemingly capable of scoring at will.
Captain John Terry won't be ready in time, however, and it is likely that Conte will stick with David Luiz and Gary Cahill as a defensive pairing while £23 million signing Marcos Alonso is returned to the bench.
Further up the pitch, Fabregas has remained on the bench for all of Chelsea's league games this season with Oscar and Nemanja Matic being picked ahead of him due to their work rate off the ball.
But, his two goals in mid-week against Leicester proved decisive in Chelsea's 4-2 win at the King Power stadium and he may have done just enough to prove to Conte that he is worth accommodating.
Conte revealed before the game that there are no new injuries, but added that Terry is still unavailable with no return date set despite taking part in training sessions with the ball this week.
"John didn't recover from his injury and he is still working [on his recovery]," Conte revealed at a press conference at Cobham Training Centre.
"He didn’t recover for the game against Arsenal. I don’t know [when he will be back] because, in this case, it is important to be patient for what the player feels and all the pain that he feels."
Terry would likely have started had he been fit, with Conte admitting that he missed his leadership after Chelsea's defeat to Liverpool, but it finally appears time for Fabregas to make his first Premier League start of the season.
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