Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admits Chelsea will be one of the teams to beat this season.

While the Gunners kicked off the new Barclays Premier League season with a scrappy 1-0 win over promoted West Brom at the Emirates Stadium and Manchester United were held 1-1 at home by Newcastle, the Blues ensured Luiz Felipe Scolari's reign started with a 4-0 humbling of the FA Cup winners.

Wenger accepts Chelsea were "impressive", yet maintains finding that consistency over the entire nine months of the season will be key for all those seeking to topple champions United.

He said: "I watched the first half, and then stopped watching because I felt the game was over.

"Chelsea were very good, but Portsmouth had a bad day at the office and that can happen to anybody. Before they could even get into the game, it was already over for them.

"However, Chelsea were impressive - but on one game you cannot assess too much.

"Chelsea will be one of the super candidates to fight for the title, but I feel we have enough to fight with them."

Arsenal had opened the last campaign with a 15-match unbeaten run as they stormed to the top of the table, only to then see their challenge fade in March.

Wenger, however, feels the squad - which now includes former Red Devils defender Mikael Silvestre - will be better for the experience.

He added: "There was not one factor why we fell away last season, it was a conjunction of a few things, like injuries, some bad luck as well as a bit of inexperience and nervousness.

"We have a short squad, yes, and we cannot afford ten injuries like other teams with big numbers.

"But I think we have the right number of players who can compete at the top level when everyone is fit.

"That is not the case at the moment, but through the season we should get guys like Abou Diaby, Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo back."

Silvestre, 31, may not feature against Fulham because of a muscle strain, but Cameroon midfielder Alex Song should come back into contention after returning from the Olympics.

Euro 2008 winner Cesc Fabregas will, though, not be rushed following a hamstring problem and instead has been pencilled in for the second leg of the Champions League qualifier against FC Twente.

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