‘They have the strongest squad in England'

Mikel Arteta is well aware of the size of the challenge facing us on Boxing Day as Chelsea visit Emirates Stadium.

Our London rivals invested heavily in their squad over the summer, and are currently sitting six points off top spot in the table - but our manager says we have the chance to claim a victory that would provide a welcome boost.

“Chelsea always have a great squad of great players,” he said. “The team that we faced a few months ago [in the Emirates FA Cup final] was a top one. 

“In this moment, you're probably talking about the strongest squad in the Premier League. They're doing a really good job, Frank is doing a really good job. 

“He's got a team full of belief and confidence, and even though they had some defeats, they got back to winning and it's a team that is going to be fighting for the top spot in the league for sure.”

So much much can we learn from the way that Chelsea responded to a tough spell?

“We are trying to respond every week, and for different reasons we are not picking up results,” Arteta said. “It happened last week against Burnley, a game we should be winning, it happened against Southampton, it happened against Everton... we have to turn things around. W

“hether it's bad luck or these things that are affecting our results, they have to change dramatically. Those margins make it very difficult to win football matches in the Premier League. We have the opportunity on a very special day here at home against Chelsea, so let's do it.”