Van Bronckhorst - we can win it all

Giovanni van Bronckhorst declared Arsenal’s sights were firmly set on the Treble after starting the new year in perfect fashion by inflicting a significant blow on title rivals Chelsea.

The Gunners moved eight points ahead of Chelsea, who had started the day in second place, with a 3-2 victory at Highbury and maintained their five-point advantage over Manchester United.

They also top their Champions League group, which resumes next month, and now turn their attentions to the FA Cup, with Oxford visiting Highbury in the third round on Saturday.

Van Bronckhorst, who yesterday scored his first goal since February following his return from long-term injury, is optimistic about their prospects but made it clear that his side would not rest on their laurels.

“To beat Chelsea is a big win for us and it’s a great way to start the new year,” he said.

“We want to keep the gap and make it as big as possible. If we keep on winning our games, we will make it very difficult for the other teams.

“That’s why it was important for us to beat Chelsea and keep them eight points behind us.

“We are first in the Champions League group and first in the Premier League and now we play Oxford in the FA Cup third round.

“We want to be involved in all competitions as far as possible. The aim is to win all the prizes.

“With a team like this, we can do it but we have to stay focused until the end of the season – and, if we work hard, hopefully we will get a prize at the end.”

Van Bronckhorst believes that the Premiership could turn out to be a two-horse race between Arsenal and United, although he accepts that there may be further twists and turns ahead.

“At this stage, it seems like that, but there are so many games to go and all the top teams have to play each other, so it could all be different to now. Chelsea are still a threat,” he said.

“It was great to win the Double, but we all knew this year would be harder as everyone wanted to beat us and it’s very hard to do it again.

“But it’s halfway through the season and we’re still on top and it’s going well, although we haven’t won it yet.”

While Arsenal officially credited the first strike as an own goal by Marcel Desailly, Arsene Wenger insisted it should stand as Dennis Bergkamp’s 100th goal for the club despite the Frenchman’s deflection.

Van Bronckhorst’s accomplished 20-yard strike later helped to settle Arsenal’s nerves as Chelsea looked for an equaliser.

“A lot of things went through my mind, thinking back to the hard times of last year and to be playing again now and scoring in a game like this is a great achievement,” he said.

“To score a goal is always important for the team but it’s extra-special for me as it reminds me of all the hard work I’ve done over the past year.”

With Thierry Henry, who will be rested against Oxford, also finding the target amid an impressive display, Arsenal looked home and dry only for Chelsea to strike back through Mario Stanic and Emmanuel Petit in a frantic finale.

Defeat was nevertheless a considerable blow to their title aspirations, although boss Claudio Ranieri refused to be too downbeat despite just one point from their past three games.

“If we’d had a little luck, we could have drawn the match, but the players showed great pride and fought a lot for every ball,” he said.

“It’s important for us to maintain our confidence after our two last defeats, but we have never spoken about the title.”

Ranieri does not believe a knock sustained by Gianfranco Zola is too serious, although he will check the striker’s fitness ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup tie against Middlesbrough