Published: 19 April, 2012
by STEVE BARNETT

JOHAN Djourou has warned his Arsenal team-mates not to rely on the fatigue factor against Chelsea when the London rivals meet at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Both clubs are involved in a four-way battle for two Champions League places, with Arsene Wenger’s side currently leading the chasing pack of Tottenham, Newcastle and the Blues.

The Gunners go into the game seven points ahead of Roberto di Matteo’s side, who tackled their fifth game in 14 days last night (Wednesday) when they took on Barcelona at Stamford Bridge.

Djourou, however, is adamant that Chelsea will not be feeling the effects of fixture congestion when they arrive in north London.

“They still want to have Champions League football next season as well so we know it is going to be a tough game,” he told Arsenal Player. “Obviously they have a lot of fixtures, the two Barcelona games are either side of Saturday’s derby, but we don’t really concentrate on that. We have to be focused on our game and be focused on what we do best. We need to play football the way we did against Manchester City and Wolves. Unfortunately it wasn’t the case against Wigan on Monday but we have to be sure it is there on Saturday.”

Djourou still believes Arsenal are in the European driving seat despite the
2-1 home defeat against Wigan.

“It was a disappointing result, we know that,” he said.

“Now we have to dig in and just go forward because Saturday is around the corner and we have to make sure we are ready for that.”