Mikel Arteta has admitted that Arsenal need a win against Chelsea if they are to try and overhaul the Blues in the battle for a top four finish.
The Gunners travel to face Frank Lampard's Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge, with the Blues currently occupying fourth spot in the Premier League, ten points ahead of Arsenal in tenth.
And Arsenal's head coach has insisted that the Gunners will head to west London with the intention of winning the game, adding that they will not alter their approach too much from when they hosted Chelsea last month, when the Blues came from behind to win 2-1.
“I loved the first 30-35 minutes and how much we wanted to put them under pressure," he said.
"They changed the system and started to defend deep and physically it was harder to maintain that energy. Against Chelsea that is vital.
“We will go with the same intention.
“It’s really important if we want to fight for the top four. Tomorrow we need a win.”
Meanwhile, Arteta believes it is too soon to be prioritising a potential route to qualification for next season's Champions League, with a place in Europe's top club competition available to the winners of the Europa League.
Arsenal are due to face Olympiacos in the round of 32, with the first leg in Greece on Thursday, February 20, before the return leg in north London a week later.
But with Arteta preparing his side to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge tomorrow, the Gunners head coach said he is not looking too far ahead.
“We don’t know at the moment," he said, when asked whether the Premier League or the Europa League offered the best route to the Champions League for the Gunners.
"We just have to get every performance as good as we can. To look further is unrealistic”
