Arsene Wenger: Arsenal playing to win

Wenger, whose side held an eight-point lead themselves not so long ago, said: "I don't think we have a problem with motivation.

"To progress now we are in the final sprint. That is the moment where the tactical observation is gone and you just try to win the game.

"I believe we are in a situation where the direct confrontations with the top three teams will have a direct influence on the championship. It's who can beat the direct opponents that will win it. That's what we want to achieve on Sunday."

Defeat to Chelsea would see Avram Grant's side leapfrog them in to second place. But Wenger is convinced his side are going to bring an end to their run of four consecutive draws.

He said: "I'm highly impressed by the strength the team has shown. It's true we had a mental blow after Birmingham [after Eduardo's injury]. It takes some time to recover but I feel the team are over that and we need to move on.

"We had an eight point lead, but we had played one game more, so really it was a five point lead. That is nothing. It can change very quickly.

"Recently we have been in situations where we had to chase the game. That didn't happen earlier in the season.

"Against Aston Villa, Birmingham and Middlesbrough we had to chase the game because we gave goals away. Let's score the first goal on Sunday."