Emmanuel Petit claims Arsenal can beat Chelsea to a third-place finish in the Premier League after a "miracle" response to their "terrible" start to the season.
The Gunners lost their opening three games by an aggregate scoreline of 9-0 - to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City - to leave manager Mikel Arteta teetering and severely damage their hopes of Champions League qualification.
The Blues, in contrast, won eight of their first 10 top-flight games to position themselves at the table's summit.
However, their form tailed off over the festive period as they dropped points in five of their last seven league fixtures.
A once-impregnable defence has looked alarmingly vulnerable of late, and Arsenal are only eight points behind their bitter rivals with a game in hand.
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Petit, who won the Premier League- FA Cup double with Arsenal in the 1997/98 season and later played for Chelsea, believes Arteta's side stand a chance of pipping the Blues to the third.
"Can Arsenal make the top four? If you asked me this question two months ago, I would have said it would be a miracle," Petit told bookmakers.com .
"But after what Arsenal have done in the last few months, they now have an opportunity.
"They had a terrible start to the season, but now - after six months of playing - they have the chance to qualify for the Champions League.
"Now everyone is changing their minds. Confidence is back, so is the quality and I just hope they don't get any more injuries because that has been a big problem.
"With what is happening to Chelsea at the moment, you can imagine them dropping even more important points and it has you thinking that maybe third place could be a target for Arsenal as well.
"Honestly, the opportunity they have now is a gift for these Arsenal players, so they have to take it!"
Arsenal have the challenging prospect of two Carabao Cup semi-final legs against Liverpool - with the first on Thursday night - either side of their next league task, a trip to local foe Tottenham on Sunday evening.
Chelsea are also in action in midweek as they aim to defend a 2-0 advantage over Spurs from the first leg and book their spot in February's final at Wembley.
Thomas Tuchel will then lead his side against defending champions and runaway leaders Manchester City - who already have a 10-point gap at the top of the table - in Saturday's lunchtime Premier League kick-off.
