Chelsea skipper Gary Cahill has denied suggestions that EFL Cup semi-final opponents Arsenal have a psychological edge heading into next month's tie.
The Blues will face their London rivals over two legs in what is a repeat of last season's FA Cup final, which the Gunners won 2-1 at Wembley Stadium.
Arsenal also picked up a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge when the sides last faced off in the Premier League, making it just one defeat in five against Antonio Conte's men.
Cahill insists that Arsenal will not be looking forward to the double-header, though, as Chelsea are now extra motivated to progress through to the final.
"A psychological edge? No, not at all. I have had good and bad times against them," the London Evening Standard quotes him as saying. "They've done very well against us lately, especially at Wembley but if I put myself in the Arsenal camp, I don't think it's ideal for them to play us over two legs.
"Do the recent results against them give us extra motivation? Yes. Obviously there was the FA Cup Final last season and they got one over us there. But if you look at what's happened over the last 10-15 matches between us, we have had good games too. We have played Arsenal many times and we know what to expect.
"The first leg is at home and that will be massively important. These are two big teams going at it. We know it will be a tough test. You expect to see big teams in the semi-finals of cup competitions, even though clubs change their sides up. You still expect the big teams to have enough to get through and that's what's happened with our semi-final."
Chelsea beat Bournemouth 2-1 with a late Alvaro Morata goal to reach the last four, while Arsenal saw off West Ham United 1-0 on Tuesday night.
Daniel Lewis
