• Arsenal v Marseille, Champions League

Arsenal told to build on Bridge brilliance

Victory at the Stade Velodrome could prove to be the turning point for Arsenal © PA Photos

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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called on his team to forget Saturday's momentous derby win over Chelsea and focus instead on qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League with a win over Marseille.

The Gunners' renaissance hit a new peak on Saturday when they stunned Chelsea with a 5-3 victory at Stamford Bridge.

They have now won eight of their last nine games and are within three points of the Barclays Premier League top four after recovering from a dreadful start.

Wenger's men have saved their best form for Europe this year and they will all but secure qualification from Champions League Group F if they beat Marseille and Olympiacos fail to beat Borussia Dortmund in Germany.

However dazzling Saturday's victory - which came in front of new majority shareholder Stan Kroenke - Wenger is reluctant to let his team get carried away with the win and has called on his young squad to show they can produce that type of performance on a regular basis.

"We have now to forget about Chelsea, carry on, and prove that we can keep doing the job,'' Wenger said.

"We want just to qualify. Our job is to forget about the last game, take the positives out of it, and focus on the next one just as we had to do when we lost 8-2 to Manchester United.''

The win at Stamford Bridge, which came thanks partly due to a stunning hat-trick from Robin van Persie, put Arsenal within seven points of second-placed Manchester United, leading some to suggest the Gunners can now start calling themselves serious title challengers again despite their poor start.

The Arsenal boss, perhaps mindful of how poorly his team played early on this season, played down those expectations, however, saying: "We need much more consistency in our results before we claim that (we are title contenders).

"We are closer to the Champions League places now. The next step is to come back closer to the top four of the league before we do that. "It's our deep desire (to challenge for the title), but we need some time to get back in a stronger position before we claim that.

"We are in October and we still have a lot of margin to improve.''

Despite his caution, Wenger has been boosted by the return of key players from injury recently, most notably Thomas Vermaelen, who could make his first start in over two months.

Marseille are enjoying something of a renaissance after a tough start to the season and goalkeeper Steve Mandanda is eager to build on a run of three wins in domestic league and cup competition.

"It's been a run of three or four games that we've been much better in,'' the OM skipper told reporters in quotes reported on his club's website.

"The results have been there as well so everything is a little easier at the moment and hopefully it lasts. When we win we're happy and there is less attention paid to our mistakes.''

The stopper is wary of Van Persie's threat after his exploits at Stamford Bridge.

"We know Arsenal's qualities and he is very important to Arsenal's team. But there are other players around him who are also dangerous.

"He scores a lot of goals, we know it won't be easy but similarly we know what to expect. We'll be ready.''

Key battle: Since his brief dalliance with a Premier League move, Loic Remy has become an increasingly impresive presence for Marseille. After coming through a tough test at the Stade Velodrome, Per Mertesacker will want to put in another resolute display.

Prediction: 2-1

Bet of the day: The first goal to be a header, 4/1 with bet365.

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