Peter Crouch is confident Chelsea can beat Arsenal at the Emirates (Picture: That Peter Crouch Podcast) Ex-England striker Peter Crouch has backed Chelsea to get the better of Arsenal and throw a ‘cat amongst the pigeons’ in the Premier League this weekend. Arsenal got their title defence off to a flying start by sweeping aside newly promoted Coventry in their opening match of the campaign. Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were the scorers in a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Frank Lampard’s men, a result that came as a statement of intent to the rest of the division. The Gunners followed this up with a gritty 1-0 win away to Aston Villa on Monday night, with Saka scoring his second of the season to ensure Mikel Arteta’s men emerged with maximum points. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. On Sunday afternoon, all eyes will be on the Emirates for what promises to be an intriguing London derby between the reigning champions and a resurgent Chelsea team. Like Arsenal, Chelsea have taken six points from a possible six, with Xabi Alonso’s all-star attack of Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Morgan Rogers firing on all cylinders. at this embryonic stage of the season. However, the Blues remain vulnerable at the back and have managed to concede five goals in their two opening top-flight contests versus Fulham and Brighton. Arsenal continued their winning start with a 1-0 victory at Villa Park (Picture: Getty The Gunners are yet to concede a goal this season (Picture: Getty) ‘Great game! Two teams looking good as well,’ Crouch said on That Peter Crouch Podcast while previewing the clash. ‘Joao Pedro, for me, I love watching him play football. He’s a player that enjoys his football and he just looks like he enjoys his football. ‘I’ve been thinking this since the first game against Fulham, I think he’ll get goals this season. I just think he’ll score goals. ‘Pedro Neto looks sharp, creative. They’ve got some creative players in that team.’ {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Arteta praises Arsenal's maturity in 1-0 win over Aston Villa","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/01\/1030376710448723935\/480x270_MP4_1030376710448723935.mp4","description":"Arteta also stressed the importance of squad depth after Konsa was substituted on for his debut for a Mosquera struggling with an injury.","duration":"T4M26S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/01\/07\/110968591-0-image-a-1_1788244180392.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-01T07:29:49+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); Chelsea have looked to bring some stability at the back by capturing Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as a replacement for the error-prone Robert Sanchez. But Crouch believes the Argentine’s arrival alone may not be enough to stop the Blues shipping goals against Arsenal. ‘The only problem here [for Chelsea] is defensively, I think Chelsea will concede,’ the former Liverpool and Tottenham forward added. Joao Pedro has kicked off the campaign in impressive form (Picture: AP) ‘I love the Emiliano Martinez signing, I think it’s a brilliant signing. How you get a World Cup-winning, dominant leader for £7million in this climate… I th