Jose
Mourinho has warned Arsene Wenger that Chelsea are back in the groove as the
Premier League champions look to extend their revival in Saturday's showdown
with London rivals Arsenal.
Mourinho's
side are languishing just above the relegation zone following a miserable run
of one win from their first five matches, but the Blues boss is confident his
players are beginning to rediscover their swagger after a 4-0 demolition of
Maccabi Tel Aviv in midweek.
That
vibrant opening to their Champions League campaign was a stark contrast to the
doom and gloom that surrounded the club after their worst start to a season
since 1988.
Already
trailing leaders Manchester City by 11 points and fourth placed Arsenal by six,
a third successive league defeat this weekend could leave Chelsea's title
defence in tatters.
Yet
Mourinho expects the challenge of taking on a title rival will draw a powerful
performance from his team against an Arsenal side reeling from their surprise
Champions League defeat at Dinamo Zagreb.
"We
come with a different feeling. We can wake up with a different state of
mind," Mourinho told Chelsea TV.
"Saturday
is a big match, it's a great rival. This result can put us in a better
situation.
"We
had too many bad results. We couldn't have this one on top of it."
Mourinho
has been quick to dismiss claims of a rift with captain John Terry, one of
several players dropped for the Maccabi clash.
But
Mourinho looks an agitated figure at present and locking horns with old rival
Wenger is likely to keep him in a waspish mood, especially since he is still
smarting from losing to the Arsenal chief for the first time in 14 meetings in
the Community Shield last month.
Facing
Chelsea on the back of a European setback is hardly ideal preparation for
Arsenal, who haven't scored in their past four league meetings with the Blues.
However,
Gunners forward Theo Walcott is adamant his team will shrug off that setback in
time to add to the Mourinho's problems at Stamford Bridge.
The
Gunners have been solid if unspectacular in the league so far and Walcott, who
came off the bench to score against Zagreb, said: "Everyone will be very
disappointed but we need to move on now.
"We
have had setbacks before and have managed to bounce back from them. We have got
a big, important game at the weekend.
"The
manager will make sure that it's put to bed in the changing room and that it
will stay there. We need to reflect on this game and move on quickly."
In
other Premier League action this weekend, West Ham enter their clash with
Manchester City quietly confident as their opponent cross-town rivals
Manchester United will look to end a disastrous week on a high at Southampton
on Sunday.
Newcastle,
Sunderland and Stoke - the three top tier sides still waiting for a first
league win this term - aim to end their barren runs against Watford,
Bournemouth and Leicester respectively.
It
won't be easy for Stoke though, with Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, whose
team are surprisingly unbeaten in second place, offering his players an
appetising incentive to keep Stoke at bay.
"I
told them, if you keep a clean sheet, I'll buy pizza for everybody. I think
they're waiting for me to offer a hot dog too!" he said.
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