The Gunners could end the Blues hopes of retaining the Premiership crown this weekend, just days after their Champions League semi-final heartache at Liverpool.

However, Wenger insists proving their own worth in the only motivation his players need.

"For us, it is a chance to beat them," Wenger said. "We just want to win our games and to show we are ready for next season to fight at the top.

"It will be a good opportunity to do that on Sunday, to show how good we can be next season."

Chelsea beat Arsenal in a Carling Cup final which was marred by a mass brawl and resulted in players from both sides being suspended as well as £100,000 fines for the clubs.

Wenger, though, maintains Sunday will not be about exacting revenge.

He added: "We feel we could have won the Carling Cup game, and we feel we could have won at Chelsea [in the Premiership].

"We have two targets on Sunday. One is our desire to beat them. If we played Manchester United then it would be exactly the same to the players.

"The second thing is we want to show we are able to compete with Chelsea next season, who are ahead of us at the moment along with Manchester United."

Wenger accepted the defeat in Cardiff and the fall out from it affected his side "terribly" over the following matches, which effectively ended their own hopes of silverware this season.

"We lost [Emmanuel] Adebayor [to suspension], then we lost in the FA Cup and then we played under tremendous pressure in the Champions League. In one week it was over," he admitted.

"Mentally it was terrible; we played our season in this game. It took around three weeks [to recover].

"You play and you want to win, but there is something not there.

"If you look across Europe many teams just collapse. For us it was even worse because we had nothing to go for."

Wenger feels both Chelsea and Manchester United, who lost to AC Milan in the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday, will have to show great strength of character to lift themselves for the domestic run-in.

He added: "Chelsea are certainly disappointed, because when you go out of the Champions League, it is a terrible blow for you.

"Something goes away from you, the feeling you are on a high, that you are living in a world with a lot of expectation, and that suddenly goes.

"It is a big blow, but Manchester United have exactly the same problem.

"Now they face another test, how well they respond to a big disappointment."

Wenger believes to successfully chase so many trophies and remain competitive takes something more than just the quality of players on the pitch.

He said: "It is possible to go for everything, but to win everything is [different].

"One team managed it, Manchester United in 1999. That year everything went for them.

"We had a penalty in the last minute for us in the semi-final of the FA Cup, in the championship at Leeds we hit the bar three times before losing in the last minute.

"They [United] were 1-0 down with a minute to go in the final of the Champions League and it could have been 2-0 three times.

"Of course United had exceptional quality, but they still needed a little bit of what you call, maybe not luck but something in your head which says we have to win it, it is going for us.

"Chelsea have also shown exceptional quality, and Chelsea went for everything this season, the quadruple.

"You cannot say they missed by a lot."

Wenger accepts coaches can become "trapped" by the continued demand for success at the highest level.

He said: "You are always in a trap when you go for four trophies, because when you are winning you cannot say to your team, 'let's lose this game', because they will say 'what is he talking about?'

"For a long, long time you feel it is an advantage to go for everything because when you win, you do not think about anything else."

The Arsenal manager rejected the notion Liverpool were able to progress in Europe because they "sacrificed" the FA Cup, his side having dumped the holders out in the third round.

Wenger said: "They could have lost by more in the first game [of the Champions League semi-final] and if they had, people would have said 'why did he sacrifice the cups?' - and he did not sacrifice the FA Cup, - Liverpool lost.

"That did help them a little bit because the FA Cup is a little bit in conflict with the Champions League, especially in last 16 - but you can never decide to go out of a competition."