LONDON COLNEY, England, Feb 27 : Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is taking no comfort from his team’s good record against Chelsea, and the Premier League leaders will be fully prepared to deal with their London rivals’ adaptability when they meet on Sunday.
Arsenal beat Chelsea twice in the League Cup semi-finals recently and have not lost to them since 2021, with Arteta’s side winning 10 of the last 16 matches between them.
Arsenal were held to a draw by 10-man Chelsea in November, and Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea are coming into Sunday’s game looking to continue a six-match unbeaten run in the league.
“We know the importance of the game and the team we are going to have in front of us. We just have to prepare in the best way to earn the right to win it, as I always said,” Arteta told reporters on Friday.
“What you have done two weeks or two years ago is irrelevant because every game and every context is different, the players might change, the mood of the team might be different. We are prepared.”
Arteta praised Chelsea’s ability to adapt to the game under Rosenior, who is yet to lose a league game as Chelsea manager.
“They can change throughout the game and they have a manager very comfortable doing that, so we are prepared for the possible scenarios we can face and then we will try to be better than them,” Arteta added.
Asked if Arsenal can become the first English club to win the quadruple – including the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and the Champions League – this season, Arteta shrugged off the idea.
“Has it been done? That is how difficult it is,” he said.
“So let’s go game by game and try to earn the right to be there in the last stage of every competition, and then we will see what happens.”
