Arsene Wenger believes his Arsenal side will rediscover their best form when title rivals Manchester United visit Highbury on Wednesday.
Arsenal, who have lost top spot to their Manchester rivals, struggled for long periods before finally beating first division Sheffield United 1-0 in their FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.
In contrast, Alex Ferguson's men go into the potential title decider on a high after defeating third-placed Newcastle 6-2 on their own St James' Park ground last weekend.
But Wenger, who could be without influential captain Patrick Vieira through injury, is backing his players to cancel out United's three-point lead at the summit.
"We can beat them -- it has happened before," Arsenal coach Wenger told reporters. "We will need a good defensive performance and also we want to create more chances than we did against Sheffield United.
"But I believe in my players. We have lost just one more game this season than at the same stage last season.
"We have only lost away to Blackburn (Rovers) since December, we are fighting for the championship for the third year running and we are in the FA Cup final for the third year running, so we deserve the credit."
WONDER SAVE
Wenger accepted Arsenal were not at their best in reaching the FA Cup final for a third successive year, thanks to Freddie Ljungberg's first-half strike and a wonder save minutes form the end by David Seaman that denied the underdogs an equaliser.
But he argued that the end result had provided a timely boost at a critical time in the Gunners' quest for an unprecedented second successive domestic double.
He added: "Of course, the (United) game will be a different type of game than the FA Cup, but we have done the one job asked of us and now we must focus on the next game.
"It was very important for us to qualify for the FA Cup final and now we have six games left to concentrate solely on the championship.
"The reality is we have a big game in front of us and we want to perform at our best at Highbury. If we do that, then we will see what happens."
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson is also relishing the chance to take on his main rivals as the title race approaches the finishing line.
"It's the biggest game of the season now, no question. We are set up nicely and we have got to the position I hoped some months ago we would get to. So it's truly down to ourselves now," he told the United official website.
"We have got a difficult game on Wednesday, so to predict winning titles no matter how many games there is to go is a bit foolish."
While Arsenal wait on the fitness of the inspirational Vieira, United also have their share of injury worries following their remarkable win at Newcastle on Saturday.
Roy Keane was substituted with a dead leg, John O'Shea suffered a knee injury in a tackle by Alan Shearer and both Wes Brown and Ryan Giggs finished with tight hamstrings.
