Chelsea striker Didier Drogba believes beating Arsenal could knock the Gunners out of the Premier League title race.

The two London rivals meet at the Emirates on Sunday and a win for Carlo Ancelotti's side would move them eleven points clear of the Gunners, albeit Arsene Wenger's men have a game in hand.

And Drogba believes that such a gap could be insurmountable.

"It is difficult to come back from eleven points behind. It is not impossible but it would be great to have that gap," he said.

Drogba also stressed the need for his side to accumulate as many points as possible before the likes of himself, Michael Essien, Salomon Kalou and John Obi Mikel depart for the African Cup of Nations in the new year.

"This is the beginning of a lot of important matches for us. Before the players go to the African Nations Cup, it would be good for us to win all the games.

"I want to be part of this because I know Chelsea are going to miss four or five players. It's important to take the maximum points now.

"After beating Liverpool and United, it would be a big statement to beat Arsenal.

The Ivorian knows the game on Sunday won't be easy though.

"But it's going to be a very difficult game. Arsenal are playing very well at the moment. They look strong, they don't concede. I think that's where they've improved a lot: they score goals and now they don't concede.

"There's a lot at stake in this game. We really want to win the league this year, so we will go there and try to make a good result.

He added: "We need to maintain the gap between ourselves and the other top-four teams. Maybe it's these games that will decide who are the champions."