Arteta Cautions Arsenal Not to Underrate High-Flying Chelsea

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says Chelsea “fully deserve” to be viewed as Premier League title contenders as his side prepares for Sunday’s trip to Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal sit six points ahead of second-placed Chelsea after 12 matches and head into the derby boosted by a 4-1 win over Tottenham and a 3-1 Champions League victory against Bayern Munich.

Chelsea are also in strong form, with three straight league wins and a commanding 3-0 triumph over Barcelona on Tuesday. Despite this, Enzo Maresca’s young squad are still seen by some as outsiders in the title race.

Arteta, however, stressed that he is not taking them lightly, noting their UEFA Conference League and Club World Cup successes last season.

“I think we are all there and they (Chelsea) are there because they fully deserve to be,” Arteta said on Friday. “What they have done in the last few years, the squad they assembled, the numbers they have, the quality they have, the number of coaches they have — it makes sense that what is happening there is very, very positive and they deserve to be there.”

Arteta added that Chelsea are one of the teams he most enjoys watching.

“They have a lot of fluidity, a lot of threat, a lot of individual talent. They are very clear about what they want to do and that’s why they are very tough,” he said.

He described Sunday’s fixture as a major test: “Obviously it’s a big game, a big London derby. We’re going to play a really, really good opponent. They are in really good form and we know the challenge and the opportunity we have on Sunday, so we are fully ready for it.”

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