Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has said the club can "go all the way" in the Premier League title race, while the manager of table-topping Leicester City, Claudio Ranieri, says the Gunners are favourites.
Arsenal's 2-1 win over Manchester City on Monday put them within two points of leaders Leicester ahead of a Boxing Day trip to Southampton.
Arsene Wenger's side have not won the Premier League title since 2004, but Cech, who signed for the club from Chelsea last summer, believes the Gunners have what it takes to go all the way this season.
"The squad is very strong and once we have everybody available, the manager can use every player the way he likes," Cech told BBC's Football Focus.
"That will be to our advantage and we'll be able to go all the way."
Arsenal are currently without Jack Wilshere, Alexis Sanchez and Francis Coquelin through injuries, and 33-year-old Cech added: "We've been through the season with plenty of problems.
"Everything isn't going as smoothly as we would like it to. We can't avoid injuries -- sometimes you have more, sometimes you have less - but we showed that even with the unlucky injuries at the moment that we manage to win games.
"I believe we will benefit from players coming back into the team, once they are fit.
"The season is long and anything can happen. But if we stay where we are until March or April, then we have the chance to win the league."
Meanwhile, Leicester boss Ranieri has played down his side's chances of glory, despite their impressive campaign so far that sees them on 38 points from their opening 17 matches.
"I agree with these people when they say Arsenal is the favourite or City is the favourite," Ranieri said in The Times. "For me, Arsenal are favourites. We are a young team, it's the first time we're top of the league, we aren't used to staying there.
"For this reason it's important for me that they don't think about it. It's like a climber. If you look below you think 'oh my God!' I would sign now a guarantee to stay above Arsenal at the end of the league. In that case, if you're not at the top, you're very close."