Chelsea currently sit second in the table on goal difference after a mid-season blip had dented their title aspirations. Ferguson maintains his side capitalised fully on Carlo Ancelotti's men slipping up but warns the current champions are in a better position than Wenger's charges to mount a late surge.
"I said a few weeks ago that Chelsea would be our main challengers. Now they are above Arsenal," Ferguson told reporters.
"I have that slight preference for Chelsea because their fixture list is a wee bit easier but they have to come to Old Trafford and that's not going to be easy for them. Chelsea are far more experienced than Arsenal.
"Chelsea are a strong team with strong experience. That's the difference between the two teams. Arsenal are the better footballers but Chelsea are the better, stronger team.
"At the beginning of the season Chelsea were favourites to reclaim the Premier League, but a mid-season slump saw them lose momentum allowing United to gain an advantage.
"We all get blips in a season. Chelsea were odds-on at one point for the Premier League and then they hit that blip. But credit to us – we took advantage of that."
Manchester Unted face Everton on Saturday but Ferguson has praised the way David Moyes has guided his side to seven games without defeat, despite having a host of key first-team personnel sidelined.
"Everton have done exceptionally well considering David has had a mountain of injuries in the last few weeks, being without Cahill, Arteta, Saha and Fellaini but still turning out the results. David keeps motivating them."
Darren Fletcher is set to make his return from injury and Ferguson has revealed the Scot will takes his place in midfield once he is fully fit.
"In big games, important games, Darren has excelled over the years because he has the knowledge and discipline to carry out a job, whatever I want him to do," said Ferguson.
"When he does come back, he will go straight into the team."
West Ham’s Scott Parker received the Football Writers' award on Friday, while United captain Nemanja Vidic came third. Ferguson maintains the midfielder is deserving of the accolade.
"Scott Parker has certainly done a good job at West Ham,'' said Ferguson. "He's probably the player who's driven them on, motivated them to be where they are and still with a chance of staying up.
"They've got a mountain to climb – they go to Chelsea. But he's been the driving force in that West Ham team. In a way it's a good thing to recognise the good pros in the game."
"It's nice to recognise somebody outside of the celebrity clubs in the Premier League, the teams who are getting all the publicity like United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham."
Ferguson reflected on previous winners, one in particular, Tottenham midfielder David Ginola, who scooped the award in 1999, and maintains the Frenchman was a surprise considering his side won the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League that season.
"I remember when we won the treble, David Ginola got it. He was a nice player, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against David Ginola at all, but I thought it was an insult to Manchester United. How can we not have had one player who had a better season than David Ginola?
"I suppose at the time you picked David Ginola, we still had four games to go, and may had won nothing,'' he added.
Following Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier’s hospital admission, fellow Premier League managers have come out in support of the Frenchman. Ferguson believes age is the determining factor of managerial illness - rather than stress as a result of the job.
"Some mornings I wake up with aches and pains and I worry what it is,'' said the 69-year-old.
"I sometimes say to my doctor: 'I've got a pain here and a pain there.' He says: 'It's your age, you're growing old. You have to pay attention to your health when you get older. It doesn't come without penalties.
"Modern nutrition and lifestyle mean people live longer but it doesn't guarantee complete health all your life. I had a pacemaker put in seven years ago. That was the first indication that your body is not working the same as 20 years ago."
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