Frank Lampard has urged his Chelsea manne to end Arsenal’s hopes of making the Premier League top four by beating the derby rivals tonight at 10.15pm.
The Gunners arrive at Stamford Bridge looking to close the 10-point gap on the fourth-placed Blues.
But Lampard knows that getting the better of his fellow rookie coach Mikel Arteta will all but destroy the north Londoners’ chances of qualifying for the Champions League through the league spots.
And the Blues legend says: “Any team that puts strong runs together, the picture can change quickly.
“So, no, [a win won’t rule Arsenal out of a top-four place]. They are some points behind us but if they win they will feel they can close the gap on us.
“That is why it’s not better to look around too much, and worry about ourselves.
“But in terms of Arsenal, we played them recently [winning 2-1] and we will talk about them a lot.”
Arteta (pic, below), meanwhile, is plotting his revenge on Chelsea after a late comeback from the Blues inflicted his only defeat of his six-match reign at the Emirates Stadium just under a month ago.
COACH: Mikel Arteta. Picture: EDDIE KEOGH/REUTERS
And he explains they will again attack the Blues’ weaknesses.
Arteta, says: “We will try to put the best game plan possible for that game to try to avoid the things that are going to go against us.
“Bear in mind that there is an opponent that has got the strength but has also got the weaknesses that we’ll have to try to highlight.”
Tonight’s other Prem fixtures
Sheffield United v Man City
Everton v Newcastle
Palace v S’hampton
Aston Villa v Watford
Bournemouth v Brighton
(all 9.30pm)