Winterburn tells Arsenal defence to bully Drogba

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Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
02 Oct	3:00 PM	P	Chelsea (A)	0	2	Lost

Former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn believes Arsenal's defenders will have to be tough with Didier Drogba when they meet Chelsea this Sunday.

The Ivory Coast striker has an impressive scoring record against the Gunners, but Winterburn has taken heart from the poor performance by Drogba at Manchester City last weekend.

Drogba was marked closely and kept quiet as champions Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by City at Eastlands, and Winterburn hopes Arsenal's new-look centre-back pairing can adopt a similar approach at Stamford Bridge.

He said: "The key is to contain him and I'm sure Arsène Wenger would have taken note of how Manchester City kept him quiet. Vincent Kompany stuck to him like glue and Drogba didn't fancy it. That's what Arsenal need to do – make his head go down and don't give him an inch.

"Drogba probably thinks he can bully the Arsenal defence so Laurent Koscielny Sebastien Squillaci have got to be on their toes from the first whistle.

"It's easier said than done because Drogba can be an absolute monster when he's up for it. Arsenal have started the season really well but the questions will always be raised when they come up against the best sides and the best players. Drogba seems to score for fun against them and it doesn't matter what defenders he is playing against."

It's also bound to be a big game for Polish goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, in for the injured Manuel Almunia, and Winterburn admits that it could be the Pole's last chance to impress.

He said: "It would be a huge game for Fabianski to play but maybe it will also be a defining one. He's made his fair share of mistakes – and I remember one against Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final – but Arsène obviously thinks he's got the ability. Apparently he's like superman in training so he needs to improve the mental side of his game and produce when it really counts on the big stage."

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