Rahman and teammates warm up for Arsenal clash

Baba Rahman and his Chelsea teammates trained at their Cobham training grounds on Friday ahead of their English Premier League clash against London rivals Arsenal.

The 21 year old Ghana international who joined Jose Mourinho's side from Augsburg in the summer, made his much-awaited debut last Wednesday in Chelsea's 4-0 trimph over Maccabi Tel Aviv in a UEFA Champions League game.

Rahman is however expected to make way for Branislav Ivanovic in the starting line-up despite the Serbian's struggle for form this season.

Costa, who started on the bench in midweek, is expected to lead the forward line instead of Loic Remy, while Asmir Begovic will continue between the sticks after first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for three months.

For Arsenal, Wenger confirmed that he had no fresh injuries other than those of Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck, who remain sidelined for the rest of the calendar year.

Centre-back Per Mertesacker could return to the matchday squad, but Gabriel is expected to continue partnering Laurent Koscielny in defence.

Walcott could spearhead the attack at the expense of Giroud - who was sent off in Croatia - while Aaron Ramsey and Hector Bellerin will also come back into the side.

Already 11 points behind Manchester City, only a victory will do for Jose Mourinho's side, and the visit of arch-rival Arsene Wenger may force the under-fire Portuguese coach to draw a line in the sand.

It has been a little less than four years since Arsenal last secured a Premier League win over their London rivals, with Robin van Persie netting a hat-trick to help the visitors record a 5-3 win in October, 2011.

They have lost five and drawn three of the subsequent eight meetings, before beating them at Wembley last month. Their biggest defeat of recent memory was a 6-0 drubbing at Stamford Bridge in 2014 which, to add insult to injury, was also Wenger's 1,000th game as Arsenal manager.