Chelsea pining for top-dog status as Arsenal relish shift in capital’s hierarchy

With three words in June, Reece James cemented his place in the hearts of Chelsea supporters and, perhaps, made his first move in an ultimately successful bid to win the club captaincy.

Responding to a user on Twitter who had posed the question: “Reece James to arsenal who says no”, he replied simply: “I say no”.

Posted on the same day The Athletic reported that Chelsea had agreed an initial £55million ($67m) deal to sell fellow Cobham graduate Mason Mount to Manchester United and a little more than a week after Kai Havertz had agreed a £65million ($79m) move from Stamford Bridge to the Emirates Stadium, James’ words felt particularly pointed.

The fact he felt inclined to respond at all to an entirely speculative notion floated on social media also hinted at a shift in the Chelsea-Arsenal rivalry, one informed by the vastly different trajectories of the two clubs over…