Mikel Arteta has praised Arsenal for showing resilience during a difficult period and described his players as a "joy to work with" ahead of a crucial week in the Premier League title race.
All three title contenders – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City – are in action twice this week, with the Gunners taking on Chelsea and Tottenham in two huge London derbies.
They returned to the top of the table with Saturday's 2-0 win over injury-hit Wolves, but with City possessing a game in hand, the destination of the trophy remains out of their hands.
Following a difficult few days in which Arsenal surrendered control of the title race and exited the Champions League against Bayern Munich, Arteta was delighted with their response at Molineux.
"If you look at the amount of games we have played in the last few weeks, the type of games we have played, their effort is unquestionable and the results are something else," Arteta said.
"It's a joy to work with them, and it makes us realise we want to be involved in the big competitions, fighting for the Champions League, fighting for the Premier League with the level that it requires."
Chelsea's ambitions, meanwhile, are limited to securing qualification for either the Europa League or the Europa Conference League, with their hopes of silverware being dashed on Saturday.
They were guilty of spurning several golden opportunities in their 1-0 defeat to City at Wembley Stadium, with their wait for a first trophy under the Todd Boehly regime being extended.
Mauricio Pochettino, though, is choosing to take the positives from that game as the Blues bid to draw level with Newcastle United and Manchester United in the table on Tuesday.
"Now we need to take the positive things from the game," Pochettino said. "This group of players needs these types of moments and games.
"Now is the time to finish the season in the best way and then see how we can do better next season."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Leandro Trossard
Trossard scored in October's reverse fixture as Arsenal fought back from 2-0 down to clinch a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, and he has provided an invaluable source of goals from the left wing in recent games, with Gabriel Jesus struggling.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion man is enjoying his most prolific Premier League campaign, with nine goals, and only Bukayo Saka (14) has netted more for the Gunners this term.
Chelsea – Nicolas Jackson
Jackson missed several clear-cut chances as Chelsea failed to make the breakthrough against City at Wembley on Saturday, and he is perhaps running out of chances to show he can be the Blues' long-term solution in that number nine role.
Jackson's 10 Premier League goals this season have come from a total of 13.98 expected goals (xG), giving him an underperformance of -3.98. Only Dominic Calvert Lewin (-5.98) and Darwin Nunez (-4.1) have underperformed their underlying numbers by a greater margin.
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal have only lost one of their last eight Premier League games against Chelsea (five wins, two draws), going unbeaten through their last four against them. That is their longest such streak versus the Blues since they went 19 matches against them without defeat between 1995 and 2005.
Chelsea are unbeaten in their last eight Premier League games (four wins, four draws) and have scored multiple goals in each of their last six. However, that run could come to a halt at the Emirates, with Arsenal possessing a strong record in the biggest games this term.
City and Liverpool have already left north London defeated this season, and Arsenal have not lost back-to-back home Premier League games since April 2022. Chelsea should be competitive, but the Gunners cannot afford to miss this chance to pull clear of their rivals.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Arsenal 51%
Chelsea 22.5%
Draw 26.5%
'We weren't efficient' - Marquinhos bemoans PSG profligacy after Champions League exit
Marquinhos believes Paris Saint-Germain paid for their profligacy after suffering Champions League semi-final heartbreak against Borussia Dortmund.
Mats Hummels' second-half header from a Julian Brandt corner - the only goal at Parc des Princes - wrapped up a 2-0 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side, who advanced to their third final and first since 2013.
Meanwhile, PSG's wait to land the elusive European crown goes on, despite a whopping 44 shots across the two legs, while they also struck the woodwork on six occasions - their overall tally of 14 the most recorded by a team during a single campaign.
Indeed, Luis Enrique's side failed to find the net in a home match for the first time since their 0-0 draw with Lorient in their first Ligue 1 match of the season, as their hopes of completing the treble vanished for another year.
"We lacked efficiency," Marquinhos told Canal+. "They scored two goals from corners and a through ball that we had worked on. We had to defend better. These are small details.
"We created chances, a lot more than them. We weren't efficient. They were efficient, they scored two goals and won both matches."
But despite the disappointment, the PSG skipper urged his team-mates to focus on the positives from their run to the semi-finals.
They recovered from a disappointing 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United to finish second behind Dortmund in Group F, before overturning a 4-2 aggregate deficit to deny Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
"There are a lot of things to take away from this competition," Marquinhos added. "At the beginning of the season, no one believed that we would get this far. We've overcome a lot of obstacles, we shouldn't throw everything away now just because we're eliminated.
"You have to remember that it's a new team, with a new coach. There are some positives to bring back for next season. We wanted to go to Wembley for the fans and our families.
"You have to stay calm after the elimination. It's very hard. We've come very close. We had to win tonight and be more efficient."
Everton shareholders demand a decision on takeover
Everton shareholders have urged Farhad Moshiri and the Premier League to make a decision on the future of the club.
The Toffees, who have been hit with two separate points deductions this season due to previous financial discrepancies, secured their Premier League status in April by beating Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Brentford in the space of six days.
However, Everton remain in turmoil off the pitch, with majority shareholder Moshiri wanting out. He is aiming to sell the club to 777 Partners, a Miami-based investment firm that has stakes in several other clubs, including Genoa and Standard Liege.
There is no lack of controversy surrounding 777, though, and their co-founders Josh Wander and Steve Pasko.
It has been close to eight months since Moshiri confirmed his intention to sell his 94.1 per cent stake in Everton to 777, but so far the group has been unable to pass the Premier League's Owners' and Directors test.
While 777 has pumped over £200million into Everton to fund the day-to-day running of the club, it has now the subject of multiple lawsuits.
One of these lawsuits is by Leadenhall Capital Partners LLP and Leadenhall Life Insurance Linked Investments Fund plc, in New York.
Leadenhall claims Pasko and Wander "are operating a giant shell game at best, and an outright Ponzi scheme at worst".
On Tuesday, Everton's shareholders released a statement condemning the situation.
The statement read: "We are the oldest shareholders’ association in the world and are dismayed by the lack of respect being shown to our football club by the largest shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, and the Premier League during what seems a never-ending change of ownership process.
"We have observed with concern and frustration as it became increasingly clear that a fit-for-purpose process cannot possibly take this long as the Premier League continues to demonstrate their inability to regulate.
"In the absence of the Premier League making a timely decision we insist that the Everton board, and Farhad Moshiri in particular, stop this damaging process now and recognise that 777 Partners are not at this time fit-and-proper prospective owners of Everton Football Club.
"The powers that be are being disrespectful to our fellow shareholders, our fantastic worldwide fanbase and football as a whole by continuing to allow this farce to continue. We demand a decision and we demand it now."
Everton face Sheffield United on Saturday before rounding out their season with a trip to Arsenal.
Thiago Silva to rejoin Fluminense when Chelsea contract expires
Thiago Silva will return to his boyhood club Fluminense when he leaves Chelsea at the end of the season, the Blues have announced.
Silva joined Chelsea from Paris Saint-Germain in 2020 and has made 152 appearances for the club, helping them win the Champions League, Club World Cup and Super Cup.
The 39-year-old confirmed last month that he would leave upon the expiration of his contract in June, pledging to return "in another role" when his playing days are over.
However, that will not be for some time as the centre-back has agreed a two-year contract with Fluminense, who he first joined as a 14-year-old in 1998.
Initially finding opportunities hard to come by with the Rio de Janeiro giants, he had spells with Pedrabranca, Juventude and Dynamo Moscow before returning to Fluminense – initially on loan – in 2006.
He made his name with the club before joining Milan in a €10million deal in 2009, with that move kickstarting the defender's glittering career in European football.
Silva announced he was returning to Brazil on Instagram, posting an image of himself in a Fluminense shirt alongside the caption: "I'm coming home".
Chelsea said Silva will be allowed to train with Fluminense as soon as the Premier League season is over, before becoming eligible to represent the Brazilian side on July 1.
It was feared Silva may already have played his final game for Chelsea when he suffered a groin injury during their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa last month, but he was named in the starting lineup as they thrashed West Ham 5-0 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Silva has started 26 Premier League games for Chelsea this campaign, with the Blues conceding an average of 1.6 goals per game with him in their lineup, compared to two goals per match without him.
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