There’s something oddly stubborn about Chelsea, at least that’s how Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink sees them. Watching him talk about the Arsenal game you get the sense he’s not trying to be dramatic — just honest, a bit blunt, and maybe a little nostalgic about his old club. He doesn’t think Arsenal will stroll to three points on Sunday. In fact, he’s leaning the other way: Chelsea will make life difficult. That’s the headline. The rest gets a little messier, which is kind of the point.
Chelsea’s awkward, useful habit
I like Hasselbaink’s phrasing: “That’s just how they are.” It’s short, but it says a lot. Chelsea, he argues, have this knack for taking points off big teams even when they don’t look the most convincing on paper. They don’t always dominate, they don’t always dazzle; instead, they find ways to be annoying. A draw, a narrow win, a result that feels slightly unfair to the opponent — that’s Chelsea’s thing lately. It sounds like a criticism, but there’s a grudging respect underneath.
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Since Liam Rosenior arrived at Stamford Bridge, the Blues have been quietly effective. Not losing in the league — four wins, two draws — is not flashy, but it’s reliable. Reliability has a way of turning into momentum. Teams that grind out results build confidence in a different way from teams that win with flair. Arsenal, for all their polished football and younger energy, might not enjoy that kind of grind. Hasselbaink thinks Chelsea will force them into that less comfortable rhythm.
Arsenal’s favourites, but not untouchable
Even as he paints Chelsea as a pain in the title race, Hasselbaink still says Arsenal are the team to beat. That’s interesting because it shows nuance: you can admire Arsenal’s quality and also expect them to be challenged. He calls them favourites and says they have the best squad — and I agree with him there, mostly. Arsenal have depth, structure, and the kind of forward momentum other teams envy.
But being favourite doesn’t make you invincible. That’s the practical side of football: form and reputation matter, but so do matchday quirks — confidence, how a referee sees a moment, simple luck. Hasselbaink’s point about Arsenal when they have “something to prove” is also worth noting. He believes they respond to pressure, and that when they need to, they deliver. That’s why he still thinks they will win the title in the end. You can see both views at once: Chelsea will make it tough this weekend, but Arsenal have what it takes over a full season.
A reminder about context — and unpredictability
It’s helpful to step back a bit. Hasselbaink compares Chelsea’s likely performance to games they’ve made difficult for other strong teams. He mentions the Spurs game as a reference point: Chelsea’s upcoming match might be even tougher for Arsenal than that Spurs fixture was. The implication is simple — Arsenal won’t have it easy, and the game might be scrappier than fans expect.
There’s also something slightly cautious in his words. He doesn’t declare Chelsea the winners or Arsenal doomed. He talks about possibilities: perhaps Arsenal and City end up level on points, and then it becomes about who is willing to take part. That hesitation feels human. He’s not making a dramatic prediction; he’s mapping out a few likely scenarios and leaving the rest to chance. That’s realistic — football is rarely tidy.
How I read the vibe
If I had to sum up Hasselbaink’s vibe: respectful, pragmatic, a touch wry. He admires Arsenal’s quality but also remembers what Chelsea can do on certain days. It’s the kind of take that, to me, rings true because it balances confidence with doubt. You can hold two ideas at once: Arsenal are favourites; Chelsea are awkward opponents. The result of that tension is precisely the kind of match that keeps people watching.
A quick, human aside: I’ve seen lots of matches where a supposedly weaker team just refuses to fold. The crowd gets louder, the underdog gets braver, and suddenly the whole match looks different. You don’t always plan for those shifts. That unpredictability — it’s part of why even the most methodical analysts throw up their hands sometimes.
What to expect on the day
So what might happen? Possibly a tight, competitive match where Arsenal tries to break through but finds Chelsea compact and rough around the edges, in the best possible sense. Maybe it’s a draw. Maybe Chelsea sneak an unlikely win. Or maybe Arsenal, when they sense pressure, will provide the response Hasselbaink thinks they usually do. There’s room for all three, and that uncertainty is the point.
If you’re an Arsenal fan, you’ll hope the team’s quality shows and the title race stays steady. If you’re a Chelsea fan — or just someone who enjoys a good upset — you’ll fancy your chances that Chelsea’s stubborn streak shows up again. Hasselbaink’s comments don’t settle the matter; they simply sharpen the stakes.
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Final thought
I like that Hasselbaink doesn’t oversell anything. He keeps it simple: Chelsea are peculiar and effective in their own way; Arsenal are the best team overall and probably will win the title, but this particular game? It won’t be straightforward. That mixture of certainty and doubt is oddly comforting. Football needs matches like that — messy, unresolved, a little dramatic — and pundits who remember that not every result fits the neat stories we prefer.
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