Chelsea vs Arsenal: Arsene Wenger should adopt Antonio Conte’s hard-line style, says Danny Murphy

If you play poorly for Antonio Conte, he will let you have it. Chelsea know how he will react to bad performances and it is no coincidence they are in such great shape. Is Arsene Wenger quite as ruthless with his Arsenal side?

Conte has no problem having a row with a superstar. We’ve seen it with Diego Costa this season, and when he was at Juventus, where Gianluigi Buffon – a World Cup winner – was once in the firing line. He’s confident enough to believe he can deal with any repercussions.

Conte’s message to an under-performing Chelsea player is simple: Lift your game, or you’re out. My belief is that life is a little easier for Arsenal players.

My understanding is that Wenger will hardly ever dig players out in the dressing room. While I don’t believe that shouting and bawling all the time is effective, I sense that too often, Arsenal play in a comfort zone.

The manager has a huge responsibility for the tempo his team play at, their physical output, their desire. Can you imagine how Sir Alex Ferguson would have reacted to some of the displays from Arsenal this season? I’m thinking of the first 20 minutes against Watford this week, or the second half against Everton earlier in the campaign.

I don’t see the same athleticism, passion or running about Arsenal as I do about Chelsea, Liverpool or Tottenham. With the exception of Alexis Sanchez, they are not as dynamic. He is the best player in the team and he works harder than anyone else. That cannot be right.

After the 2-1 defeat by Watford, I would have brought in every Arsenal player – apart from Sanchez – to watch the video of the game. I would have asked them all to watch Sanchez’s contribution and ask themselves if they were matching his efforts. Without him, I think they would struggle to finish in the top four.

I would never suggest that Arsenal aren’t trying hard enough. But if you don’t fear you will be dug out or dropped if you play badly, there is a subconscious effect. They don’t look like a side who are fighting and sometimes, you need a manager who will get on your back.

Conte certainly does that. He has done an amazing job. Yes, he inherited a squad full of players who had won titles, but they’d had a horrendous season. There were question marks over quite a few of them, their attitude, whether they would leave.

Somehow, he quickly turned them into a fit, sharp, hungry side, playing in a system that suits them all really well.

He has managed to persuade world-class players not only to get on board with his 3-4-3 formation, but to work harder than I have ever seen them work. To have any chance of victory, Arsenal need to match that at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.