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Arsene Wenger has claimed that he is delighted to see Nicolas Anelka back to his best.
The Arsenal boss worked with Anelka when he was a teenager, signing him from Paris St Germain in 1997 for £500,000.
The French striker went on to win the Premier League the following year with the Gunners when he was only 18 years old but then lost his way following a £23million move to Real Madrid in 1999.
Spells followed at PSG for a second time, Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbahce and Bolton before arriving at Stamford in January 2008.
Anelka missed the decisive penalty in the Champions League in Moscow two years ago and struggled to hold down a first-team place last season, yet he has come into his own under Carlo Ancelotti with six goals already to his name this season.
Ahead of the visit of Anelka and his Chelsea team-mates to Emirates stadium, Wenger was happy to talk up his former protege, saying: "He is in very good form and has been given more and more credit.
"He was very much in the spotlight when he was at Arsenal the first time but then lost his way when he went out of the spotlight. He is now fulfilling the potential that he showed when he won the League as an 18 year old and he is now where everyone thought he would be."
Despite that praise, Wenger is confident that his team is now capable of beating "anyone" and will pose a stern test for Chelsea.
He added: "We don't want to talk about them too much, we have enough in our locker to beat anyone in the world."
