Arsenal will be hoping to cut Chelsea's lead at the top of the Premier League when the giants meet in the London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Arsenal remain the best team to watch in the Premiership in terms of their style of play, but it is Chelsea who are blazing the way at the summit of the Premier League and remain the team to beat this season.
Two of the most well-respected foreign managers in the Premiership in the form of Arsene Wenger and Carlo Ancelotti will lock horns as Arsenal look to close the gap at the top of the table.
The Gunners have shown plenty of potential in the Premiership this season and will put their 100% home record on the line. A goal difference of 16 at home shows just how dominant they have been at the Emirates this season.
Arsene Wenger is also likely to be aware that his side have taken just four wins from their last 19 meetings with main rivals Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham.
Arsenal's chances of improving that disappointing record could rest on the shoulders of Andrey Arshavin, with the Russian playmaker proving to be something of a lucky charm.
He has started 20 Premier League games since joining the club, winning 14 and losing just one, while the Gunners have lost three of the five matches he has not started.
Arsenal will be without left-back Kieran Gibbs, who suffered a fractured metatarsal in the Champions League win over Standard Liege in midweek.
William Gallas is expected to be fit after suffering a blow to the head in the same match, while Theo Walcott is pushing for a starting berth.
For all the silky football and attacking flair, the Gunner's Premier League title will remain elusive unless they avoid making sloppy mistakes. A surprise defeat at Sunderland - the first in more than two months - has left Arsenal eight points adrift of Chelsea going into Sunday's match against the league leader.
Chelsea have been in great form this season but if they do have one vulnerability it is their Premiership matches away from home. Defeats at Wigan and Aston Villa are the only blemishes in an excellent Premier League campaign to date and they are currently on a run of 4 straight Premiership victories.
Chelsea have been boosted by a fully fit Frank Lampard ahead of their clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Lampard has recovered from a thigh injury sustained on England duty but despite flying to Serbia for placenta treatment, Chelsea have confirmed the midfielder only underwent standard massage therapy.
Jose Bosingwa (knee) remains sidelined for the Blues but Michael Essien has shaken off a knee injury to be included in the squad.
REVIEW:
Chelsea tightened their grip on top spot in the Barclays Premier League and put a massive dent in Arsenal's title ambitions with a convincing 3-0 win at Emirates Stadium.
Carlo Ancelotti's Blues poured on the misery for an Arsenal side that have only managed two wins from the last 15 encounters between the two London rivals as a Didier Drogba strike and an own goal from Thomas Vermaelen settled the match at the Emirates Stadium.
In a meeting between the Premier League's strongest attack and meanest defence, Arsenal had been on the front foot during the opening exchanges and had been taking the game to their west London counterparts.
It was Chelsea, however, who were presented with the first chance of the match after 18 minutes as Frank Lampard, passed fit to play despite concerns over a thigh injury, put Nicolas Anelka into the clear but Bacary Sagna tracked back to get in the vital challenge just as his international compatriot was about to pick his spot.
There were suspicions that Sagna had hauled Anelka to the ground in the process of making the crucial tackle although none of the Chelsea players appeared to appeal for the penalty as Lampard fired wide from the follow-up.
Arsenal had plenty of possession, but lacked spark in the final third, with the absence of Dutch forward Van Persie painfully clear.
It was no real surprise when Chelsea went ahead on 41 minutes.
Terry played in Ashley Cole down the left, and he whipped a low centre across the six-yard box, where Drogba got in between the static Arsenal centre-backs to steer the ball into the net off the angle of post and bar.
Before Wenger could regroup his team in the dressing room, it was 2-0.
Wenger made the decision to bring on Theo Walcott at half-time in an attempt to inject a bit of pace into his side and Arsenal were a little unlucky not to have reduced the arrears almost immediately after the break when Andrei Arshavin had a goal chalked off after an alleged foul by Eduardo on Cech.
Andrei Arshavin had the ball in the net but the effort was rightly ruled out by referee Andre Marriner after Eduardo had kicked it out of Cech’s hands as he tried to collect a cross following Drogba’s woeful back-pass. Arsenal threw on more strikers, with Branislav Ivanovic surviving a penalty appeal for a tackle on substitute Carlos Vela, but Lampard went close when deflecting a cross, forcing a fine save from Almunia.
Arsenal kept trying to penetrate the Chelsea defence who were resolutely and impressively marshalled by John Terry and who comfortably withstood the pressure. Chelsea were just too strong and now appear to be too far ahead of Arsenal also.