Arsenal-Chelsea Preview

Posted Saturday, February 06, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

LONDON (SE) - Nicolas Anelka aims to end former club Arsenal’s Premier League title hopes on Sunday after revealing he wants to finish his career at Chelsea.

Anelka, 30, has been linked with a return to Liverpool after negotiations over a new contract were rumoured to have stalled.

The nomadic Frenchman, whose current deal expires at the end of next season, insists he has finally settled at Stamford Bridge.Anelka: “I said when I first came to Chelsea I wanted to stay here.

“Now I have reached more games than I did at any other clubs, which is good because I am really happy.

“I have been at big clubs before but when I signed for Chelsea I came back to a big club. I had been looking for that and I knew when I arrived I wanted to stay for a long time.

“I love playing alongside Didier Drogba. He is a target man and plays with a lot of quality.

“It works well because Didier likes to play in front of goal and I love to play around him. I feel more comfortable in this position these days and it is working well.”

Arsenal’s bid for a first trophy in five years suffered a major setback after Arsene Wenger’s side were thrashed 3-1 at home by Manchester United last weekend.

Anelka, who scored 28 goals in 91 games for the Gunners, is refusing to rule them out of contention for the championship.

“Anything is possible in football, things can change very quickly,” he added.

“If we lose one game and draw one game and Arsenal win two games, then we are back to how it was before.

“We have to just stay positive and try to win every game, which is obviously what we are hoping to do.”

Arsenal boss Wenger has warned his players not to allow themselves to become distracted by the media frenzy that followed newspaper revelations about Chelsea John Terry’s skipper affair with the ex-girlfriend of former Blues teammate Wayne Bridge.

Wenger said: “Maybe it will be affect them, I don’t know. I feel it is very important for me to keep a distance and not hope that it is has had a bad influence on them.

“We know we will only win if we perform and have the right attitude and not if Chelsea have a weakness. Let us make sure we are at our best.”

Arsenal’s demoralising loss to United led to captain Cesc Fabregas claiming defeat this weekend would end their title bid.

Wenger says Chelsea’s midweek 1-1 draw at Hull has given his side fresh hope.

The Frenchman added: “There are more twists and turns to come \2014 you saw that again at Hull.

“It is difficult for anybody to win anywhere. That’s why I believe if we are tough and persistent in our attitude, we will be rewarded.

“It is very important to stay in touch because we know we can have a good run. We must not look too much at the mathematical differences. We can come back.”