Until Wednesday when Kevin De Bruyne’s double and an Erling Haaland masterclass put Manchester City in the driver’s seat despite sitting in second place.
Pep Guardiola’s side then took top place with a 2-1 win over Fulham on Saturday but the Gunners have the perfect chance to bounce back against a struggling Blues side low on confidence.
Chelsea have lost FIVE consecutive matches under interim boss Frank Lampard including a 2-0 defeat to rivals Brentford last time out.
To make matters worse they have scored just one goal in their last seven games and even that was a deflected Conor Gallagher strike against Brighton.
However, form often goes out the window when these two English giants take centre stage so it’s set to be an all-out war at the Emirates.
What is Arsenal’s form like?
Arsenal’s malaise set in before their clash with City and they are now four games without a win.
Draws with Liverpool, West Ham and Southampton have knocked the Gunners off their perch and conceding goals has been a big problem of late.
Saliba’s absence has been felt but sloppy errors have creeped into their game, resulting in goals being conceded against City and Southampton.
Despite the recent slip Arteta is unlikely to make many changes, although Leandro Trossard, Kieran Tierney or Jorginho could be brought into the side.
How are Chelsea getting on?
Chelsea last tasted victory with a 3-1 win over Leicester on March 11.
In the eight games since they have scored just three and conceded an alarming 13 goals, with Lampard failing to turn things around.
They have failed to beat the likes of Wolves, Everton and Southampton in recent weeks so Arsenal present an almighty challenge.
What is the team news?
Mikel Arteta would have hoped that William Saliba could be fit enough to return for this huge London rivalry.
The Arsenal boss confirmed Saliba is unavailable and reports suggest Saliba could even miss the remainder of the season due to his ongoing back issue.
Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mohamed Elneny continue their knee recovery sessions while Emile Smith Rowe could feature once again after playing 19 minutes at the Eithad.
Elsewhere, Chelsea have a lengthy injury list.
England duo Reece James (thigh) and Mason Mount (groin) join Armando Broja (cruciate ligament) in being ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
Kalidou Koulibaly (muscle) and Marc Cucurella (thigh) are also expected to be unavailable.
And Kai Havertz’s knee problems could mean a start for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on his return to the Emirates.
While Mykhaylo Mudryk will be determined to show Arsenal what they missed out on in the bidding war with Chelsea.
Ones to watch
Bukayo Saka has dipped in form recently but a London derby provides the ideal occasion for the winger to get Arsenal’s title bid back on track.