Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has refused to rule Arsenal out of the Premier League title race, describing them as a "great team".
The Blues currently top the league table on 56 points, nine above Tottenham Hotspur and the Gunners, who they face at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
Despite his side being favourites for the trophy, Conte isn't underestimating Arsenal, to whom they lost 3-0 in the corresponding fixture at the Emirates Stadium earlier this term.
"For sure we face another great team, because Arsenal can fight for the title," Conte told reporters.
"Don't forget in the previous game we lost 3-0 away.
This could be a good chance for us to show that now we are a totally different team if you compare to the previous game.
"It will be another tough game, but we play at home, and this is very important.
This week is very important for us, and we want to finish this week in the right way by preparing very well for this Arsenal game."
Chelsea last won the title in 2014-15, while Arsene Wenger's side last picked up the league trophy in 2003-04.
Petr Cech has admitted that his side's 2-1 defeat at the hands of Watford last night was a "huge setback" to their title hopes.
The Gunners found themselves two goals down inside 15 minutes at the Emirates Stadium - a deficit they were unable to recover despite Alex Iwobi pulling one back for the hosts in the second half.
The result sees Arsenal slip down to third in the Premier League table, now nine points adrift of Chelsea, and Cech acknowledged that his side were punished for a lacklustre start to the match.
"This was a huge setback because this was the game we wanted to win. We wanted to put ourselves in a better position going into the weekend.
I always say that at this level you cannot play 80 minutes, or 85. You have to play 90 minutes with full concentration and everybody on top of their game," he told Arsenal Player.
"We were second best in the first half. We made so many bad passes, we lost every challenge, we were simply second best, as I said. In the second half we improved, we had a lot of chances. I thought we were brilliant second half, but obviously we only scored one goal.
"We had a very bad start. We were unlucky with the first goal when it takes a big deflection and it goes in. Obviously it gave a lot of hope and motivation to Watford's side because this was something that lifted them up.
"But then I think we didn't play well at all. It was too much for us to take in the first half and it's very hard to say why because we were prepared.
We were on back-to-back wins, important wins, we had the momentum after the Burnley game and obviously the Southampton game went completely our way, exactly the way we wanted."
Arsenal face league leaders Chelsea on Sunday looking to cut the gap at the top of the table back to six points.
Arsene Wenger has admitted that his side "were not mentally prepared" for the visit of Watford to the Emirates Stadium this evening.
The Gunners' title hopes suffered a major setback as they slumped to their first ever Premier League defeat to the Hornets, failing to overturn two goals inside the opening 15 minutes from Younes Kaboul and Troy Deeney.
Wenger spent the match watching on from the stands as he served the second of his four-game touchline ban, and he admitted that he was unsure whether he could have had a greater impact from the dugout.
"I don't know, it's very difficult to know, it would be an excuse. We prepared for the game well.
We were warned that Watford would come and make it very physical. Looking at the preparation, I have no basic regret on how we prepared for the game. Did we think subconsciously that we could just turn up and it will work? I don't know," he told reporters.
"But from the stands, I agree with you that our first-half was not at the level that we wanted. I don't think we have a physical power problem.
We were not mentally prepared, we were not mentally ready to deal with these duels that we usually do.
You don't make 47 points in the Premier League after 23 games if you have no physical power, but you have to switch it on at 100% in the Premier League, that's what it's all about.
"I am responsible for the results of the team so I am frustrated that we did not win.
What the other teams do does not matter. What you want is to win the games and I am very frustrated not to win the game.
We are at home and we have a great opportunity, of course it's frustrating and we have to learn from that, respond quickly and in a very convincing way."
The defeat leaves Arsenal third in the Premier League table, now nine points adrift of leaders Chelsea.
