Arsene Wenger: Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea the ‘game of the season’

Arsene Wenger has described Arsenal’s trip to Chelsea on Saturday as the “game of the season” for the north London club.

The Gunners head to Stamford Bridge knowing that a victory over the Blues would see them close the gap to Jose Mourinho’s men to just a point, with Wenger’s side having played a game less than their London rivals.

We are in a period where every point is vital now and especially against your direct opponents

Arsene Wenger

And the Frenchman, who will take charge of his 1,000th Arsenal game on Saturday, admits that the clash will make or break his side’s campaign.

“It is the game of the season for us, it’s as simple as that,” said Wenger.

“We are in a period where every point is vital now and especially against your direct opponents. For us, it’s the most important game of the season.”

Wenger admits that his side’s recent form at Stamford Bridge leaves a lot to be desired, but is convinced that the Gunners can beat Mourinho’s title hopefuls.

“We have a bad record at Chelsea, but the result of tomorrow with be linked with the performance of the day,” he continued.

“We won 4-1 against Everton, drew 1-1 with Bayern Munich and beat Tottenham 1-0 so we are on a good run and lets take that confidence to create a surprise.”

Wenger also insisted that he has shown loyalty and full commitment to the north London club since taking charge back in 1996.

“This club has given me a chance but I think as well, at an important period in the lifespan of this club, I’ve shown loyalty and turned many things down,” he said.

“[I] accepted to work with restricted potential, and knowing that I had to stay at the top of the game.

“So I would just say that I did that with full commitment.

“We are all only human beings, that means I made certainly mistakes, but I still think that the consistency of our achievements shows that we have not made too many – and we did that always in balanced budgets.”