Chelsea Striker Nicolas Anelka Relishing Partnership With Didier Drogba

Nicolas Anelka has revealed that he enjoys setting up Chelsea team-mate Didier Drogba as much as he does scoring himself.

Drogba agrees, saying that there was never a doubt that he and Anelka would form a profitable partnership up front for the Blues. But both strikers have thrived under the tutelage of new manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Anelka told France Football: "I didn't come to Chelsea to only score goals and acting [sic] like a star, but rather to give him [Drogba] passes for him to score as many goals as possible.

"I like to play in such a situation, it reminds me of Liverpool with Emile Heskey. I was not scared to play for him or Michael Owen for them to score. It is the same with Didier.

"You have fun playing with those guys," he said, before stating his preferred position is the same as Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp. "[Bergkamp and I] could play together [with our] eyes closed. It was the same with Shaun Goater at Manchester City too.

"I have always said that my real position is not centre-forward but second forward or playmaker. All my coaches tried to play me alone in attack as they saw me scoring goals at Arsenal after long runs.

"I repeat I feel much more at ease a little backward, just like Bergkamp at Arsenal."

Meanwhile, Drogba said the hesitation shown by managers such as Luiz Felipe Scolari in partnering himself with Anelka was not one he shared. "We both had great faith in it," he said.

"Ancelotti has been the first to trust us in attack. We didn't need to convince him, he really wanted it. We quickly felt that partnership would be part of the balance of that team.

"Ancelotti has started something at Chelsea and we are lucky to both be a part of it. [The partnership] is instinctive. We think about the same piece of football at the same moment.

"I have to admit it is much more comfortable for me to play beside 'Nico' in attack. I am less tired after the encounters. Sometimes I am even surprised after the end of a game – 'What happens? I am not exhausted!'

"I believe we never felt in competition with Nico, but rather saw ourselves as team-mates. Maybe that is the secret."