Gunners boss Arsene Wenger insisted that he is not worried about his team’s poor recent record at Stamford Bridge.
The Gunners have failed to clinch a victory at Stamford Bridge since October 2011, when Robin Van Persie scored a hat-trick in a 5-3 win over the Blues.
Arsenal have made a disappointing start to the new season and have lost both of their Premier League games and currently sit 11th on the league table after four matches.
But instead of looking back into history, Wenger has instead focussed on Arsenal’s recent FA Cup and Community Shield triumphs over Antonio Conte’s Chelsea.
“Basically, in recent years, Chelsea have always had a great team,” Wenger told reporters after the Europa League win over Cologne.
“It was always difficult to win [at Stamford Bridge] but our record against Chelsea recently has been good.”
“We won the FA Cup final, we won on penalties in the Charity Shield, so let us just continue to focus on the quality of our game and not too much on where we play.”
“I do not really believe in [home-ground advantage], I believe the pitch is 105 metres long and 68 metres wide everywhere and never in my life could I accept or understand that it is different away from home.”
“It is just a question of how much you want it, no matter where you play. That is football. So it is a good opportunity to show that we have that quality.”
Wenger had dropped Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey in the Europa League clash against Cologne in order to give them some rest, but now he believes that the Gunners duo “should be alright” to face Chelsea away from home.
It is believed that Jack Wilshere could also feature in Sunday’s game against Conte’s men after making his first appearance for the Gunners since August 2016.
“It is good for him. It will give him more confidence. You could see that he still needs competition,” Wenger said.