Chelsea midfielder Florent Malouda expects a tough challenge from Arsenal this Sunday as both sides lock horns at Stamford Bridge.
The reigning champions suffered their first defeat of the season in the 'battle of the cash' against Manchester City last weekend and could hardly have asked for a tougher test when they face-off with another 'top four' side in the form of the Gunners next.
But despite acknowledging the quality of Arsene Wenger's men, the rejuvenated Malouda is confident his side can get back to winning ways in the league this Sunday.
"Everybody knows the passing game of Arsenal," observed the Frenchman.
"They have quality. We have seen many times teams coming here and try to close the game and it depends if you score early in the game but I think that Arsenal have always played the same way with their passing game and technical quality and they try to do the same against everyone.
"Manchester City was a tough opposition and our first defeat. I will speak from our point of view. We must expect a good reaction in front of our fans. We lost against Man City and now we have an opportunity with a home game to get back the winning atmosphere.
"It will be a big challenge for us to win against a team of the 'big four'. Chelsea-Arsenal games are always important because they are just behind us and we want to increase the gap.
"It won't be easy because there are no easy games for Chelsea but now is time to recover and then we have time to think about Arsenal."
Speaking after his side's Champions League victory over Marseille on Tuesday, Malouda is delighted that his side put their back-to-back defeats against Man City and Newcastle behind them.
"I'm happy because we had two defeats before this game and it was great to get back to winning ways," he explained. "We take the lead in the group and now we want to confirm qualification for the next round.
"After seeing the first game of the season people think we are going to score four goals every time. Every game is different.
"We played at a very high intensity in the first half and paid the price in the second half. In the second half we were in control and we hit the post twice so winning was not really a problem."
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น