Hotels for Chelsea v Arsenal

A Saturday afternoon meeting of two sides who have spent recent seasons measuring themselves against each other. The ground is tight and old-fashioned by modern standards, which keeps the sound close and gives the away corner more volume than its size deserves. Expect a fast start and a nervous last twenty minutes.

Chelsea were founded on 10 March 1905, the deal reportedly struck at The Rising Sun pub on the Fulham Road, opposite the gates of the new Stamford Bridge ground the club was built to fill. The Blues nickname comes simply from the shirt colour. Chelsea's honours list is heavily weighted toward the twenty-first century: six league titles, eight FA Cups and two Champions League wins, in 2012 and 2021, the first arriving on penalties against Bayern Munich in Munich itself.

The club's transformation from a mid-table west London side into a fixture of European football's top table happened almost entirely within the current stadium's lifetime.

Chelsea's long-standing ground sits tucked between Fulham and Chelsea, a well-heeled corner of west London threaded with smart pubs, King's Road boutiques and riverside walks. Stamford Bridge has staged top-flight football and European nights for well over a century. Fulham Broadway station on the District line is barely a couple of minutes from the gates, keeping the centre within easy reach. An overnight stay nearby lets you settle into the neighbourhood's bars and beat the crush when the ground empties.