Chelsea Comment: Carlo Ancelotti's Midas Touch Puts Him In Line With Jose Mourinho

At the moment he is the man with the Midas touch. Everything Carlo Ancelotti touches seems to turn into gold.

Sunday was a case in point. Even before kick-off against Arsenal, the Italian enjoyed some very good news upon hearing the FA Cup third round draw.

The Chelsea manager is hoping the match against Watford will bring some unexpected benefits.

"I don't know Watford too well at the moment, but I will have the opportunity to learn. I know the owner of Watford is Elton John though. Elton John is my favourite singer,” the 50-year-old said.

“Hopefully after the match there will be an opportunity to meet Elton John!”

Such a meeting is unlikely - the Rocket Man severed his ties with the Vicarage Road club last year.

But when it comes to football, Ancelotti remains on the money, and he invoked the spirit of Jose Mourinho with his uncompromising statement following the emphatic 3-0 defeat or Arsene Wenger's side at the Emirates.

“I believe we will win the title,” said Ancelotti.

“When I signed a contract with Chelsea I believed we’d win something. We started the season believing that we could win. Our objective is to stay in all competitions until the end of the season and then, if we can win, we will try to do that.”

When he joined the club in the summer, many immediately drew comparisons between him and former manager Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Passed test | Arsenal clash has defined other managers

Both were foreign managers, with little experience of English football and, considering his poor league record in Italian football (just one title in eight years at AC Milan), many expected the Italian to fall foul of Roman Abramovich just as quickly as the Brazilian had done.

Even as Ancelotti enjoyed a fruitful start to his reign, many dismissed it — pointing out that Scolari had overseen a similarly emphatic start to the campaign last year yet was still sacked by February.

After Sunday's result, however, surely the comparisons should shift. The wheels came off for Scolari after a game against Arsenal this time last season, when Robin van Persie struck to overcome a 1-0 deficit for the Gunners in front of a stunned Stamford Bridge crowd.

From that result came a poor run of form that soon saw the end of the former Portugal national team manager.

But with Ancelotti’s success yesterday, surely comparisons with Mourinho are now more apt.

Both managers gained an early upper hand on Sir Alex Ferguson with hard-fought 1-0 wins at the Bridge in their opening season. Both cemented their title credentials with impressive performances against Wenger’s side — Mourinho in going to Highbury and getting a 2-2 draw with the then-champions, and Ancelotti yesterday.

Winning mentality | Mourinho produced results

Day won | Ancelotti has had good fortune from the start