Luiz Felipe Scolari insists that Arsenal will continue to be a title threat even if Chelsea beat them over the weekend.

A Chelsea victory would stretch their lead over the Gunners to 13 points and effectively end their hopes of winning the title.

But Scolari is reluctant to suggest that such a margin is still enough to rule them out of the race.

The Brazilian is "big friends" with Arsene Wenger and despite his problems at the Emirates this season, Wenger remains one of the best five coaches in the world, according to the Brazilian.

"Last season Chelsea were nine points behind United at the halfway point and even if you're 15 points clear with five games to go, you're not champions," said Scolari.

"You're only champions at the end of the last game. This is the first time I'll have played against Wenger - he's been my friend for ten or 12 years now."

He added: "I met him for the first time in Japan and we are big friends. I like him as a coach. If I chose five coaches in the world as the best, he'd be one of the five.

"His team plays football, so it's difficult to win. They play beautiful football."

Scolari will go into the game without the services of the suspended and much-troubled striker Didier Drogba.

He will sit out the second match of his three-game ban with the dust refusing to settle on his alleged meeting with Inter Milan's sporting director Marco Branca last week.

Scolari admitted he had not spoken to the Ivorian striker about his alleged attendance at the meeting because he had been focused on the Arsenal game.

However, Scolari is convinced that Drogba is 100 per cent committed to Chelsea despite the recent speculation over his future.

"I think Didier is happy," said Scolari. "My relationship with him is very good. Very good."

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