Chelsea defender Jorrel Hato says his side are facing “a serious test” when they travel to Arsenal in the third round of the English Premier League.
The London derby will be played at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, 6 September, with both teams looking to maintain their perfect starts to the campaign. Chelsea and Arsenal have each collected six points from their opening two matches.
Hato shared his expectations for the meeting as Chelsea prepare for one of the most demanding fixtures of the early season. The Netherlands defender recognises the significance of facing Arsenal away from home, with the two London clubs entering the match level on points.
The fixture will take place in north London at 18:30 Moscow time. That scheduled evening kick-off sets the stage for a meeting between two sides who have made identical starts to their Premier League campaigns.
For Chelsea, the match represents an opportunity to continue their progress after taking maximum points from their first two league games. Arsenal will enter the derby with the same record, ensuring that neither team has an advantage in the table based on points collected so far.
Hato’s assessment underlines the difficulty of the contest. Although the defender did not suggest that the result would decide the season, he described the match as “a serious test”, reflecting the level of challenge Chelsea expect at Emirates Stadium.
With both teams on six points, the contest also carries early importance in the Premier League standings. A victory would allow one of the London rivals to move ahead of the other after the third round, while the losing side would suffer its first defeat of the campaign.
The meeting is therefore set to provide an early measure of Chelsea and Arsenal’s form. Both have begun the season with two wins, but only one can leave the derby with an unbeaten record intact if the match produces a winner.
Hato will be part of the Chelsea squad preparing for the trip, with the defender having already looked ahead to the demands of the occasion. His description of the match as a serious test captures the competitive nature of a fixture involving two clubs who have each taken six points from their opening league matches.
The derby is scheduled for Sunday evening, with kick-off at 18:30 Moscow time. The venue will be Emirates Stadium, where Chelsea and Arsenal will meet in the third round of the English Premier League.