Arsenal’s chance to end Chelsea’s hold

LONDON DERBY After recovering from a bad start to the season, Gunners will look to snap their nine-match winless run against the Blues

Arsene Wenger celebrates his 20th anniversary as Arsenal manager this weekend against opponents who have caused him more anguish than almost any other team.

The Frenchman has won only five of his last 31 meetings against Chelsea and had his last major milestone — his 1,000th match as Arsenal manager — spoilt by a 6-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge.

But having seen a second-string team win 4-0 at Nottingham Forest in the League Cup in mid-week, after a 4-1 success at Hull City last weekend, he is feeling chipper about the depth of his squad.

“We have four days to prepare for the game, let’s focus on that now,” Wenger said after Tuesday’s victory at the City Ground.

“The performance shows that the players who played at Hull need to be on their toes and that’s what we want — competition for places. The performance (against Forest) shows that competition exists.”

Arsenal’s quest to end their 12-year league title drought got off to an inauspicious start this season with a 4-3 home defeat by Liverpool followed by a 0-0 draw at champions Leicester City.

But they have won their last three league games, against Watford, Southampton and Hull, and victory over a familiar foe on Saturday will raise hope that Wenger could yet lead Arsenal to the title again.

Whereas Wenger spent last season jousting with his old rival Jose Mourinho, he has never previously crossed swords with Chelsea’s new manager, Antonio Conte.

Conte’s season to date has been the almost exact opposite of Wenger’s, with three Premier League wins followed by a 2-2 draw at Swansea City and a 2-1 home defeat by Liverpool.

But Chelsea go into the London derby buoyed by a 4-2 League Cup win at Leicester in which they came from 2-0 down.

One player desperate to feature at the Emirates is Cesc Fabregas, who made his name as a player under Wenger during an eight-year Arsenal career.