Chelsea trio Ben Chilwell, Jorginho and Christian Pulisic have offered their preview of their pre-season clash against Arsenal in Orlando on Sunday morning (UK).
Thomas Tuchel’s side will be hoping to fly back to England with a positive record following their two-week stay in the United States.
Chelsea spent nearly a week in Los Angeles for a training camp before heading to Las Vegas where they beat Club America 2-1 in their pre-season opener.
They then set up camp in Orlando and made the short trip to North Carolina to face Charlotte, but lost out on penalties after the game ended 1-1 in 90 minutes.
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It’s one win and one defeat for the Blues, and now they face their London rivals in Orlando on Sunday at the Camping World Stadium.
Arsenal, managed by Mikel Arteta, will play their fourth game of pre-season and bragging rights are up for grabs as the London derby takes place Stateside instead of the English capital.
“Whether it's pre-season or not, matches against Arsenal are a rivalry and we want to win,” Chilwell told the official Chelsea website.
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Jorginho was quick to add to Chilwell’s comments of the rivalry between the two London counterparts, admitting on media day: "Against Arsenal it’s never a friendly match."
It’s the final game of Chelsea’s US tour and they will be wanting to go out on a high before flying back to England.
Pulisic, who netted against Charlotte FC in midweek, is relishing the challenge against Mikel Arteta’s side.
He added: “It's going to be a good test against someone we will face in the Premier League this year.
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"We are looking forward to the challenge. The last game in the States should be a good one."
After the Arsenal match, Chelsea will have one more outing before their pre-season schedule is over. They head to Italy next Friday to face Udinese in their final match before facing Everton on 6 August in the opening game of the 2022/23 Premier League season.
Chilwell is hoping that playing teams that are underway in their respective league campaigns will give Chelsea a boost over their fitness levels.
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He concluded: “The first two matches we could definitely tell both teams were used to the conditions we played in whereas we're not.
"But it's good for us as a team fitness-wise, playing against two teams that are mid-season and were fighting to try to beat us.
“Playing against Chelsea gave them motivation and playing in that heat as well, the effect on our fitness is going to bode well for us going into the season.”
Topics: Ben Chilwell, Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Jorginho, Christian Pulisic
Matthew Debono