Arsenal boss Arteta insists Chelsea 'fully deserve' to be in title race

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says Chelsea are "one of the teams I enjoy watching the most" and believes they "fully deserve" to be in the Premier League title race.

The top two will go head-to-head in a blockbuster showdown at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, where leaders Arsenal will be looking to extend their six-point lead over the Blues.

A run of three straight victories without conceding has propelled Enzo Maresca's side to second place in the table, while they are fresh from an impressive 3-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.

However, Chelsea's purple patch comes as no surprise to Arteta.

"I think we are all there, and they are there because they fully deserve what they have done in the last few years," he told reporters when asked whether they were title contenders.

"I think the squad they assembled, the numbers they have, the quality they have, the number of coaches they have, it makes sense that what is happening there is very, very positive. They deserve to be there.

"They are one of the teams that I enjoy watching the most. They have a lot of fluidity, they have a lot of threat, they have a lot of individual talent, they are very clear what they want to do, and that's why they are very tough."

Arteta will hope to have Leandro Trossard available, after the forward sustained a calf injury during Arsenal's victory over Bayern Munich in midweek.

The Gunners remain without Viktor Gyokeres and Kai Havertz, though they are "getting closer and closer" to returning to action.

Gabriel Jesus is also nearing a comeback, having not played since undergoing knee surgery in January, with the Brazilian featuring against Watford at Arsenal's training ground on Thursday.

"We see every single day how he's reacting to the change that he had in load," Arteta added. "Then, he needs to get into the chemistry of the team."