Put their best teams on the park and you'll see just how strong Arsenal and Chelsea are, says Andy Gray.
Chelsea could be too strong for unsettled Arsenal
Luiz Felipe Scolari has a balancing act to perform at Stamford Bridge.
Maybe Chelsea have tried to be too entertaining this season and have sacrificed some of their grit, determination and ability to close a game out when they are 1-0 ahead. Maybe they have are a little bit more vulnerable under Scolari, but they are a little bit more attractive for it.
To be fair, they're playing without Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Michael Ballack and Ricardo Carvalho. Those are four powerful and physical footballers and if you take them out of the side it's very, very difficult to replicate them.
With Nicolas Anelka leading the line, with Deco and John Obi Mikel in midfield and with Alex at the back then a lot of the power that those absent players bring to the side has been taken out. It's difficult when four fantastic footballers such as those are not available.
It may be that they've tried to be too entertaining, but from what I've seen they're still a hugely powerful side and they are simply going through a little bad spell. They are finding it more difficult to break teams down at home and it's never easy to play against sides who come and defend - as so many do when they go to Stamford Bridge
That's where they really miss Drogba. He muscles people out of the way and uses his physical presence to make a chance for himself or for a team-mate joining him. I don't think Anelka provides that sort of threat, especially at home when teams drop off deep and restrict his room. He is more effective when they go away and teams come onto them, leaving space in behind.
Drogba is still banned, but it is hugely important that they win on Sunday. Chelsea played Liverpool at home and lost, they played United at home and drew and they will be desperate to beat one of their biggest rivals. I feel it's always important that you win your home games against the teams around you and it could prove very important later in the year.
Capable
Are Arsenal still one of Chelsea's big rivals? Put it this way, they are still one of the teams capable of beating Chelsea.
They've had a bad time and the title may be beyond them now, but they'll give it a go. As Arsene Wenger says, if they beat all of the teams around them then they could get back in the title race and it has to be their ambition to win at Stamford Bridge, give themselves a shot in the arm and get back in the hunt.
I still believe they are good enough to at least finish in the top four, but they do need to find a settled side. Half the problem is that Wenger has had to change his team, almost on a weekly basis. At times he's been without Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor, Cesc Fabregas and his central defensive partnership has been unsteady. They've had to cope with the absences of Eduardo and Carlos Vela too.
If they can get their players back and get a settled side they are good enough to put a run of games together and beat anybody. But I do think they are vulnerable at the moment. Teams can get at Arsenal more easily than they can get at Manchester United, Liverpool or Chelsea. Of the four big teams, Arsenal are the easiest to disrupt.
Armband
I don't think people like me are qualified to criticise Arsene Wenger in any way over his handling of the William Gallas affair. He has to do what he feels is best for Arsenal and he feels he has dealt with it by taking the armband off the player. I'm sure he has apologised and as far as Wenger is concerned the matter is finished - so if he thinks it's finished then so should we.
If he is playing well then Gallas is too good a player not to be in that Arsenal side. I do believe he will think twice about what he says allegedly "off the record" in the future. It's very difficult to say anything in football these days when there's journalists around - there's always somebody who will put it in the public domain and William Gallas has found that out the hard way. He'll probably be a little bit more careful about who he talks to from now on.
Damage has been done, but it is not irreparable. They would rather not have had to deal with it, but having coped with it okay then the club can put it to bed and get on with things.
I've got no reason to think that Cesc Fabregas will be anything other than a good captain. He's a fabulous footballer and it might make him even better, although we will have to wait and see about that.
Cares
I hear he's phoned his pals Patrick Vieira and Thierry Henry to talk to them about it, which shows he's serious and he cares. He may not be a Roy Keane or a Tony Adams who will roar at people, but you don't need to be. There are different qualities that can make a great captain, there is a softly-softly way of going about it and I'm sure he will do it in his own way. We'll find out in due course if that's going to be a success or not.
I'm sure Arsenal will relish the game on Sunday. Never have they gone into a game against one of their rivals not looking forward to it and with Adebayor, Bacary Sagna and Samir Nasri possibly coming back they will be stronger. Why wouldn't they want to go and try and win this game?
This is a difficult game to predict. Chelsea are due a win at their own ground but Arsenal have the capability to upset them. I just think if Chelsea are at full strength then their power might be paramount and they might just shade it.
