Fernando Torres insisted he did not need to be rested like Juan Mata after the pair combined again to fire Chelsea three points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League.
For the second successive game, Torres and Mata linked up to devastating effect as the European champions won 2-1 at Arsenal. As in Tuesday's Capital One Cup thrashing of Wolves, each set up the other's goal at the Emirates Stadium, Torres scoring from Mata's free-kick before earning the foul from which his fellow Spaniard netted the winner.
"I've been resting last season too many games, so I'm fresh now," he told Chelsea TV. "I'm feeling good and now we have a very important game against a great team."
Mata's return to the side after being given a fortnight off following his Euro 2012 and Olympic exertions has reinvigorated both Chelsea and Torres.
Manager Roberto Di Matteo decided to give Mata a complete break amid fears he could suffer burn-out and the Italian may have similar concerns about Torres, who is the only player to have started every one of the club's games this season.
Tuesday's Champions League match against Nordsjaelland might be the ideal time to rest the 28-year-old if Daniel Sturridge is fit. But, having spent much of last season kicking his heels on the bench, a siesta was the furthest thing from Torres' mind.
Torres added: "It's an important game for us in the Champions League because we didn't start with the three points."
That was in Chelsea's Group E game against Juventus, which saw them blow a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2. It was also the first match in which Di Matteo started all three of Mata, Eden Hazard and Oscar in the same team.
He did so again against Arsenal, despite question marks over whether the trio could function together as a unit - especially away from home., but Torres scoffed at the pundits who doubted the enterprise, saying: "They are not experts."
He added: "If you have great players, you have to use them. That gives you more chances to score and to win."
