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Arsenal's record against Chelsea lately is nothing short of dominance. Last weekend we confirmed that North London is still red. It would be nice to rubber stamp the rest of the city this weekend with a win against the Blues.
But it wasn't always that way… In fact, it used to be horrible. Back in the early to mid 2000s, we were routinely walloped by Chelsea's wise veterans.
That's what makes putting this young Chelsea team to the sword and beating them, rubbing their noses in their optimism, all the more important for an Arsenal team potentially on the verge of emulating their success. I don't just want to beat Chelsea, I want to patronise them, because of all the times they made me feel stupid for even hoping. So here they are, five times Chelsea ruined my childhood in chronological order.
1. League Cup Final 2007: 2-1 defeat
John Champion described it as the "velvet glove of Arsenal's sophisticated youth against the iron fist of Chelsea's relentless power". Theo Walcott, barely out of the crib, put Arsenal one up inside 15 minutes. I remember sitting in the car, listening on the radio, hearing men against boys twisted around to flatter Arsenal's youthful line-up.
Everything seemed to be going so well until the inevitable Didier Drogba delivered an equaliser that was probably offside. It all went downhill from there. Michael Essien somehow escaped a red card after kicking Julio Baptista in the chest, and then a second yellow after cutting Denilson down on the break. In the 84th minute it was Drogba, the spectre of my nightmares for years to come, who rose above Senderos to head Chelsea in front. I heard Arsenal ended that game with nine men. I wouldn't know, I'd asked my parents to turn the radio off. Arsenal left the Millenium Stadium with the consolation prize of Abou Diaby having kicked John Terry so hard in the chin, he had to be stretchered off. This game pretty much set the tone for what was to come.
2. Ruined my first trip to Wembley: 2009 FA cup semi final: 2-1 defeat
Obviously it wasn't a final, so this isn't as bad as the first time. But it was Theo Walcott who put us ahead again in a cruel echo of the last time we met Chelsea in the late stages of a cup competition. Malouda equalised before guess who (Didier Drogba) scored an 84th minute winner to send me home from my first trip to Wembley with a defeat.
3. Drogba again: 2009: 3-0 defeat at home
Arsenal didn't really put up a fight in this game, which is why I remember very little. What I can't forget is Drogba slamming an Ashley Cole cross in off the underside of the bar, before booting a free kick in for 3-0. Humiliation. Turn off the TV.
4. Wenger's 1,000th game: 2014: 6-0 at The Bridge
I had the good fortune of attending this game and sitting in the home end with the Chelsea fans. They couldn't understand why I wasn't jubilant when Mourinho followed up his 'specialist in failure' jibe with a 6-0 drubbing famous for its case of mistaken identity, when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made a diving save from Eden Hazard on the line. But instead of him being sent off, it was Kieran Gibbs who walked for Arsenal. We also handed the great Mo Salah his first Premier League goal for 6-0.
5. Eden Hazard: 2016 3-1 at the Bridge
It was February 2016 and Arsenal's title hopes were dwindling. We'd actually managed to beat Chelsea at home that season, so I had cautious hope. But that didn't stop Eden Hazard from turning Francis Coquelin into a human fidget spinner, somehow beating Laurent Koscielny twice in the same move, before scoring past Petr Cech for 2-0. To cap things off, Chelsea got their third thanks to none other than former Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas. We did get them back that year, beating them 2-1 in the FA cup final!
Honourable mentions must go to Baku, Alex's freekick and Michael Essien's wonderstrike. On Sunday it will be Arsenal's 'iron fist' against Chelsea's 'velvet glove'. History tells us that the 'iron fist' usually prevails. I hope we win.
Find more from Scarlet Katz Roberts at the Goal Difference podcast