• ‘We need a big win and Chelsea can be an opportunity’
• Manager says Cesc Fábregas is looking sharp before derby

Arsène Wenger has accepted that his Arsenal team have a “mental hurdle” to clear as he prepares them for the derby showdown against Chelsea upon which he feels their Premier League title challenge could hinge.

It feels like an age ago that Arsenal were playing their last game, the 1-0 defeat at Manchester United but, ahead of another meeting with an elite rival, the questions about their fragility resonated with thumping clarity. Even the club captain, Cesc Fábregas, suggested they had bottled it at Old Trafford while Wenger said: “We played with a little bit of restriction – a little bit of a handbrake feeling in the team.”

Wenger is mindful of Arsenal’s dismal recent record against Chelsea and the league’s other big guns, just as he has grown accustomed to playing the role of psychological cheerleader in the countdown to the meetings against them. But opportunity knocks once more at Emirates Stadium and Wenger is ever hopeful of the breakthrough result.

“I believe that my players are quite solid mentally but they have not won yet and that is a mental hurdle everyone in life has to get over,” he said. “You want to win and to show that you can win and for that, you need to be tough and that makes you stronger. But you need to believe.

“I’m convinced now that we have the right age to deliver and that’s what we want to show. But the competition is of a very high level. You have Man City, Man United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham – plenty of teams who can deliver.”

Chelsea have been the epitome of mental strength in recent years but Wenger pointed out that players such as Frank Lampard, the midfielder, were different animals when they were in their late teens. “It is a process,” Wenger said, “how solid you are mentally at a certain age. Life is maybe not so beautiful as you think it is at 18.”

Wenger can be cheered by a glance at the league table. He is already on record as saying that he feels fortunate to remain in title contention after suffering three home defeats and he has been keen to point out that his team still have their home games to play against the biggest clubs. Faltering home form is easier to rectify than that on the road.

“We need a big win, of course we do and Chelsea can be an opportunity,” Wenger said. “To be in a race for the championship, we know that to beat Chelsea at home, Man United at home and Man City at home will be vital. Beating Chelsea is certainly something that will speed up the maturing of the team.”

It is also a source of hope and inspiration that Fábregas will start for the first time since he limped out of the Champions League tie at Braga on 23 November with the latest recurrence of his hamstring injury. The midfielder made his comeback as a 64th-minute substitute in the United defeat two weeks ago but he struggled to adapt to the rhythm of the game and, in keeping with the theme of the day, Wenger suggested that his problems were as much mental as physical.

“It is more a restriction he has in his head,” Wenger said. “So we have to move the hamstring [injury] out of his head. That comes with practising every day. Physically, I think he is ready. In winter, one of the disadvantages when it is so cold is that for the guy who comes on with 25 minutes to go, it is not easy to get into the flow of the game. He had a little bit the mental problem but now, it looks to have gone.

“It is hard to overcome [mentally] if you have a recurrence of an injury because it plays a part until you get rid of it completely by reassurance. But Cesc has two more weeks of practise behind him and in the last two or three days, he has looked sharp.”

ArsenalChelseaArsène WengerCesc FábregasDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk

• Gunners aren’t good enough, insists German
• ‘Football is not playing nice passes. Football is winning games’

Michael Ballack has said the championship is now between only Chelsea and Manchester United, and has told Arsène Wenger to stop making excuses for Arsenal’s inability to win crucial games against their title rivals.

The Germany midfielder branded Arsenal too predictable, and said it may be impossible for the club to ever win anything – their last trophy was the FA Cup, five years ago – unless Wenger is able to make the team more tactically flexible. Arsenal now sit third in the league following their 2-0 defeat on Sunday, nine points behind Chelsea, who lead United by two points.

Ballack was clear when asked if the Premier League has become a two-horse race. “It looks like it,” he said. “It’s a race between Manchester United and us. But as I said a few weeks ago, it can go quickly that somebody drops points. But at the moment it looks like it’s down to the two of us.”

Responding to Wenger’s comments that he believed the best team had lost, Ballack was dismissive. “I think he always says this when he loses. When he loses he always finds an excuse.

“But football is not possession on the ball or playing nice passes. Good football is winning games and that’s what we do when we play against them. We deserved the win because we played very effectively. It was how we wanted to play before the game. It was our strategy. Maybe in the second half we concentrated a bit too much on defending but if you’re 2-0 up you can do this.

“For me good football is a mix of winning, successful football, mental strength, good football technically and also physically. I think we have a good mix in the team and we have done this all season. We can’t do more. First in the table.”

An ongoing criticism of Arsenal under Wenger is that the team is unable to switch tactics from its free-flowing, passing style, and is also unable to deal with more muscular opponents.

Ballack confirmed that Carlo Ancelotti, the Chelsea manager, had focused on this. He said: “We want to do our job. We knew the way they would play – we saw it in the first game we played against them [when Chelsea won 3-0 at the Emirates in November] and in the way they played against Manchester United last week [when Arsenal lost 3-1]. It is always the same style. If you get your tactics right like we did today I think you can beat them. That’s what we did.”

Ballack, who also echoed Didier Drogba’s support for John Terry after his loss of the England captaincy, was asked directly if Arsenal would ever win anything playing with their current style. “This season and the [last] season they didn’t show they were able to win the league,” he said.

The 33-year-old explained why he feels Chelsea are able to challenge for major honours. “We have a lot of big-game players and big characters at Chelsea. That is why we are a good team and it’s really great to be part of this club,” he said. “Everybody fights for everybody, there is good spirit and good experience in the group, we’ve had a few years together and there is a lot of personal quality among the players. Even if we don’t play a fantastic game we have a few players who can decide a game with one action.”

Ballack gave particular praise to Drogba, who scored both of Chelsea’s goals against Arsenal. The striker now has 12 in 12 games against Wenger’s team. “He is such an important player for us. In big games like this he is always there. That’s why he is such a big player,” said Ballack. “Two fantastic goals, the second was a great one.

“He’s a very individual type. The way he plays he’s a different type compared to [Wayne] Rooney or [Andrey] Arshavin. He has unbelievable physical strength combined with technical finishing. He has a lot of qualities and not a lot of players have this. It is much better to playing with him than against him.”

ChelseaArsenalPremier LeagueJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk