During Mourinho's first reign at the club, our record against the Blues was, to put it mildly, not very good. Out of eight games we drew four and lost four, including at least one Cup final defeat.
For the better part of three years, during which Mourinho was at the helm, Arsenal wasn't at its best. Only during 2004-2005 the Gunners fought Chelsea as equals, though went 13 (or so) points behind in the league. There was, of course, that famous 2-2 draw, when Henry scored twice, thus getting a chance to humiliate the Portuegese.
However, there was little to cheer about for the next two years. We've got beaten again and again (comprehensively, at times), which fuelled my ever-growing hatred towards the Blues. The way they dispatched of us reminded me heavily of the way United dominated the Gunners.
In 2007 the playing field levelled, as Mourinho was fired. We breathed again, going on to beat Chelsea immediately (3-1, remember?)
There were both good and not-so-good results in the follow-up, but at least we've got some wins under our belts. Last year, for example, we've come out on top 5-3 at Stamford Bridge.
And now we have to deal with the Portugese again. We've already suffered our fifth defeat in nine games, crashing out of the League cup.
Nevertheless, things seem different now. Even Wenger touched on this in his press-conference. The financial strain is lifted and we're definitely better off without it. We're genuine title contenders and not without reason.
Chelsea, on the other hand, seem in disarray. Sure, they are fighting for the top spot, but the overall feeling from their game is that of a disappointment. They're through in the Champions League, but lost to Basel twice. They're out of the League cup, having gone down to Sunderland. And I don't even want to touch on the mess, surrounding Mata and their strikers.
As of recently, we have hit something of a stumbling block. A draw and two defeats inside one week is hardly a result to be proud of. But now we have a chance to put things right and get back on track. Big time.
A win over Chelsea will serve the purpose of shutting up the critics, while also providing us with a handy boost ahead of a busy schedule. Getting through such a tough run of games successfully partially depends on the momentum we build. In other words, it's easier to forget about the tired legs if we win games consistently.
In terms of the squad, we have Koscielny and Wilshere out, but Podolski is back. I've already discussed, where and when the German can come in, while also giving my thoughts on possible stand-ins for Wilshere and Koscielny.
The midfield is the area, that interests me most. I think, our experimental axis of Flamini and Ramsey isn't up to scratch, so I'd pair up Arteta with the Frenchman. We lacked the Spaniard's cool head and metronomic passing against City, while dropping Flamini can prove costly defensively. He went off at 4-2 and our defense basically fell apart. We cannot allow such a dip against Chelsea. They have quality enough to hurt us.
As for the flanks, I'm again hard-pressed to tell, who'll play. I won't even exclude Rosicky. He can set the right tempo to our play, so he's definitely an option.
I think, Walcott will start, following a great performance against City. Besides, he enjoys to score against Chelsea more than anyone else on the team. As he occupies the right flank, it will probably mean a bench-start for Ramsey.
Anyway, all this is a nice problem for Arsene to wrap his head around. Whoever he plays is going to give his all, so no worries here.
Whoever he drops, though, it definitely won't be Ozil. The manager touched on how he will have to rest the German at some point, knowing he's used to a winter break. But he stressed this won't happen against Chelsea.
Anyway, we have enough quality in our side and everything to play for today. The weekend results see us sitting third in the table, a win will see us top the league one more.
So let's get a win