arsenal 3-0

Independent:

Drogba brushes past Arsenal's feeble challenge

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3: Powerful striker continues fine record against Gunners Chelsea move 11 points ahead of their London rivals after ruthless performance

By Sam Wallace, Football Correspondent

Sitting on the bench at the end of the game, having wreaked havoc on Arsenal, Didier Drogba spent the last five minutes signing autographs for the home fans. And if you think that was humiliating for Arsenal, it was nothing compared to the game itself.
Carlo Ancelotti was the manager who wore the embarrassing pixie hat for most of the game but the little people were the ones wearing the red shirts. To say it was men against boys would be putting it mildly. Chelsea looked superior in every department, brushing aside their opponents with the kind of ease they might swat away a team from much lower in the league.
This dominance was embodied in Drogba more than anyone else and not just in the two goals he scored. There was a moment late in the second half when Armand Traoré tried to body-check Drogba off the ball as they came together on the left flank. The full-back simply bounced off and ended up on the turf: that was Arsenal's afternoon in one moment. They barely laid a finger on Chelsea.
When Arsène Wenger said on Friday that this game would give him a clear idea of his team's position in English football, he was entirely accurate, although he would have hoped the answer would not prove so painful. Wenger's team trail Chelsea by 11 points and in terms of yesterday's performance they are light years behind. They lost to Chelsea by the same margin in May – 4-1 at the Emirates – and nothing has changed since then.
It was not just Drogba who proved so outstanding for Chelsea, their back four was also dominant. Ashley Cole made both the first-half goals, the second turned into his own net by Thomas Vermaelen, and by the time Cole was substituted it had become an effort for the home fans to boo his every touch. Cole had been excellent and everyone at the Emirates knew it.
While Vermaelen scored an own goal and William Gallas lost Drogba at the crucial moments, at the other end John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho never looked as though Eduardo da Silva would get the better of them. Branislav Ivanovic fought a running battle with Andrei Arshavin and it was the Chelsea full-back who had the better of it. Was there one positive element for Arsenal? The free T-shirts given to the fans at half-time went down well.
It does Wenger no favours when he tries to wriggle out of what was painfully clear to everyone else at the Emirates, or at least the 20,000 or so Arsenal fans who hung around until the final whistle. He claimed that his team were denied a goal when referee Andre Marriner penalised Eduardo for kicking the ball out of Petr Cech's hands four minutes after half-time, just before Arshavin volleyed in the loose ball.
Wenger said that decision had changed the course of the match and that Drogba had done little of note. It was wild and whirling stuff from the Arsenal manager. He would find few among his own fans who would agree, especially not the bloke who kept asking Drogba to sign his programmes. The kindest thing we can say about such an intelligent football man is that Wenger was simply traumatised by what he had seen and was temporarily incapable of facing the truth.
A more reasoned approach would be to accept that Marriner had a good game but this was not about the referee. This match was about Arsenal's sorry inability to live with Chelsea. Cesc Fabregas was decent enough in the opening stages, in which his side competed, but he disappeared after that. Of course Arsenal missed Robin van Persie but the Emirates crowd yesterday was not interested in excuses.
In the way the trickle to the exits turned into a full-scale evacuation when Drogba's second goal hit the net five minutes from time, you could tell what the Arsenal support thought of this performance. Fabregas had been mugged by Joe Cole in midfield around the hour-mark and after that Wenger's side seemed to slump. They did not give up, but they no longer seemed to believe they could win this match.
Nicolas Anelka might even have had a penalty on 19 minutes when Bacary Sagna tried to tackle him from the wrong side and brought the striker down. By then Chelsea were well on top and the two killer goals came in the six minutes before half-time. First Terry played a perfect ball past Arshavin to release Ashley Cole on the left. His cross was guided beyond Almunia by Drogba.
When Cole put in an identical cross at the end of the half, Drogba did not even have to apply the finish because Vermaelen did it for him. Gallas, who was completely out of sorts, seemed to want nothing to do with the job of stopping Drogba.
The only time Chelsea looked under any danger was when someone among the Arsenal fans lobbed a camera at Frank Lampard when he went to take a corner. At this genteel stadium you normally expect the missiles to be of a decent certain Islington quality – an olive ciabatta perhaps, or a guidebook to Tuscany – and this one missed Lampard and struck the linesman.
Drogba's third was a beautifully-executed free-kick, struck with the instep inside Almunia's right post. It was Drogba's 10th goal in 11 games against Arsenal and you can see why. He is the kind of player they cannot contain in so much as he has the pace and skill of the prototype Arsenal player and then the aggression and strength on top of it. He has become Arsenal's nightmare. And also exactly the kind of player they need themselves.

Arsenal (4-3-3): Almunia; Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Traoré; Fabregas, Song (Walcott, h-t), Denilson; Nasri (Rosicky, 66), Eduardo (Vela, 57), Arshavin. Substitutes not used: Ramsey, Silvestre, Fabianski (gk), Eboué.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): Cech; Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole (Ferreira, 72); Mikel; Lampard, J Cole (Deco, 67), Essien; Drogba (Malouda, 85), Anelka. Substitutes not used: Ballack, Zhirkov, Kalou, Hilario (gk).

Referee: A Marriner (West Midlands).
Booked: Arsenal Traoré, Fabregas Chelsea Drogba, Mikel.
Man of the match: Drogba.
Attendance: 60,067

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Times:

Arsene Wenger loses the argument as Arsenal crash at home to Chelsea

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3

Oliver Kay

There are wins, there are conquests and then, perhaps once or twice over the course of a title-winning season, there are resounding statements that indicate that a team bear the hallmark of champions.
This was men against boys. Arsène Wenger, the Arsenal manager, took issue with that depiction afterwards, but he was kidding himself. Chelsea were in a different class — not technically, which seemed to be Wenger’s point of reference, but in terms of their tactical approach, their physical prowess and their controlled aggression, epitomised by the performances of John Terry, Ashley Cole and Didier Drogba, who scored twice against his favourite opponents.
Chelsea’s five-point advantage over Manchester United at the top of the table has been re-established, but this result seemed to be more relevant in exposing the weaknesses of Arsenal, who are 11 points adrift, albeit having played one game fewer.
Wenger called the scoreline a “very unfair reflection of the game”, which it was when viewed in isolation, but then again, who expected Chelsea to go to the Emirates Stadium and to play in any other way than they did, which is to say competitively, aggressively, maturely and efficiently — everything, in fact, that Arsenal cannot do.
Wenger had said beforehand that this was “the moment” for his team to come of age, to prove that they are “now better able to handle the big moments in key matches”. Injuries — above all to Robin van Persie — have played a part, but there was an unavoidable feeling of déjà vu yesterday as Arsenal’s defence creaked when put under pressure in the closing minutes of the first half, with crosses by Ashley Cole leading to a sumptuous goal for Drogba, side-footed in off the crossbar, and a desperate own goal for Thomas Vermaelen.
To any impartial observer the impression of men against boys was irresistible. Wenger said that we will be surprised when he produces his physical and technical analysis of the game, but for now consider the following statistics: the average age of the Arsenal starting line-up was 25 years, five months — three years younger than Chelsea; the average height of the Arsenal team was one metre 73 centimetres (5ft 8in), 5 centimetres shorter than Chelsea; the average weight of the Arsenal team was 73 kilograms, 10kg lighter than Chelsea.
None of this would be relevant if the statistics were not backed up by the evidence on the pitch, but Chelsea put their various advantages — most obviously in the physical aspect but also in terms of experience — to good use. If Wenger has any statistics on which way the 50-50 challenges went, they would make interesting reading. The overwhelming impression, as the action unfolded, was that when Denilson, Cesc Fàbregas or Andrey Arshavin challenged for the ball, they seemed to bounce off their more robust opponents.
Wenger did not cover himself in glory, really. When he claimed that Andre Marriner, the referee, was wrong to disallow an effort by Arshavin early in the second half, he seemed to be forgetting that raising your studs to chest height, as Eduardo da Silva did in challenging Petr Cech for the ball, is generally considered dangerous play. If Marriner got one big decision wrong, it was in failing to award Chelsea a penalty when Bacary Sagna tugged Nicolas Anelka as the forward bore down on goal in the eighteenth minute.
And then there was Wenger’s assertion that Drogba “didn’t do a lot in the game”, another claim that he said would be backed up by the statistics. He was right to say that the Chelsea forward was not at his barnstorming, marauding best, but how Arsenal could have done with a striker who did not do a lot except occupy defenders and score a couple of goals.
Chelsea defended resolutely throughout, but it was a mark of their performance that the penetration for the first goal, in the 41st minute, came from two of their back four. Terry stepped forward and threaded an incisive pass behind Arshavin and into the path of Ashley Cole, galloping forward from left back. Cole, impressive against his former club, delivered a perfect cross and Drogba, getting in front of William Gallas, found the net with a side-foot shot that, according to Wenger, he did not mean.
That was a blow to Arsenal, who had competed reasonably well to that point, but worse was to follow before the half-time whistle blew. Arsenal’s marking was too loose at a throw-in as Anelka passed to Cole, who hit another cross, this time into what defenders know as the corridor of uncertainty. As the ball sped across the six-yard box past Gallas, Vermaelen, behind him, swung it, but succeeded only in slicing past Manuel Almunia.
All bets were off after that. Wenger took a calculated risk in sending on Theo Walcott in place of Alexandre Song, a defensive midfield player, and followed that by introducing Carlos Vela and Tomas Rosicky. Arsenal had their moments, but almost every time they sent the ball into the Chelsea box, Terry got his head to it or Cech punched it away.
The third goal was certainly harsh on Arsenal as Drogba powered home a free kick, but when it comes down to matches such as this, a powerful, aggressive, experienced team are more likely to be flattered by the result than an inexperienced, lightweight team. It really is no coincidence.

Arsenal ratings
4-3-3 M Almunia 5; B Sagna 5, W Gallas 5, T Vermaelen 5, A Traoré 5; F Fàbregas 6, A Song 5, Denilson 6; S Nasri 4, Eduardo da Silva 4, A Arshavin 4. Substitutes: T Walcott 4 (for Song, 46min), C Vela 4 (for Eduardo, 57), T Rosicky 6 (for Nasri, 64). Not used: L Fabianski, M Silvestre, E Eboué, A Ramsey.Next: Stoke City (h).

Cheslea ratings
4-3-1-2 P Cech 7; B Ivanovic 7, R Carvalho 7, J Terry 8, A Cole 8; M Essien 7, J O Mikel 6, F Lampard 7; J Cole 6; D Drogba 8, N Anelka 7. Substitutes: Deco (for J Cole, 68min), P Ferreira (for A Cole, 72), F Malouda (for Drogba, 87). Not used: Hilário, M Ballack, Y Zhirkov, S Kalou.Next: Manchester City (a).
Referee: A Marriner Attendance: 60,067


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Guardian:

Arsène Wenger flies in face of reality as Arsenal's future is postponed again

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3 Drogba 41, Vermaelen (og) 45, Drogba 86
Kevin McCarra at the Emirates Stadium

For Arsenal the future has been postponed once again. This defeat was all too familiar. It was reminiscent, for instance, of the 3-1 beating here by Manchester United in the second leg of last season's Champions League semi-final. There was a pointed resemblance, as well, to the 4-1 drubbing when Chelsea themselves last came to the Emirates in May.
There are some particularly regrettable casualties in all the carnage. It was, for instance, sad to hear Arsène Wenger trying to deny the inferiority of his men. He surely recognises the pattern. Didier Drogba, with his pair of goals, has now scored 10 times in 11 appearances, including the Community Shield, against Arsenal. The striker has never lost to these opponents.
If there is any comfort for Arsenal, it lies in the fact that they are far from being the only major side who cannot cope with a hardened and accomplished Chelsea. The full range of that side's capacities was flaunted here. For the home support it must have bordered on the unendurable that the catcalls for their former left-back Ashley Cole had to be stifled as he set up the first two goals.
There was a revival of sorts for Wenger's side following the interval. The manager removed Alex Song since there was no longer any sense in having a holding midfielder on the pitch when keeping Chelsea at bay was an irrelevance. Arsenal, with Theo Walcott introduced, had to chase the game. They seemed to do so with some élan but the Chelsea defence reacted with its habitual efficiency. When Andrey Arshavin did have the ball in the net, a foul was awarded against Eduardo da Silva by the referee, Andre Marriner, because the Croatia international had raised his foot when challenging the goalkeeper Petr Cech.
There should be no recriminations from Arsenal over the official. He had indulged them when he declined to give a penalty in the 17th minute despite Bacary Sagna's tug on Nicolas Anelka as he moved on to a Frank Lampard pass. The unusual aspect was the disinclination of the striker to keel over inside the area when he had grounds to do so against his former club.
Hope and potential look like handicaps for Arsenal when confronted by a side of Chelsea's expertise. After this defeat Arsenal are 11 points behind Carlo Ancelotti's Premier League leaders and their game in hand is scant consolation. This was a second consecutive domestic defeat, following that at Sunderland.
That was bad enough but the know-how of the visitors was all the more depressing for home fans who had to endure the key role of Cole at the first two goals. There was a final demonstration of Chelsea's authority in the 86th minute, when Drogba took his second goal with a crashing free-kick from 25 yards.
Much is made of the importance of Chelsea's full-backs to the success of Carlo Ancelotti's midfield diamond, with Ashley Cole in particular bursting down the flank in support of his attackers as much as possible. However against Arsenal both Cole and the right full-back, Branislav Ivanovic, played quite defensively. Cole's 19 successful passes comparing poorly to Arnand Traore's 52; however Cole claimed two assists, proving that it is about quality, not quantity. Chelsea had few moments of anxiety and, when pressure was applied as Arsenal sought a comeback, they looked wholly prepared for that stress. Ancelotti has a squad that, in some departments, seems grizzled. For the time being, though, it is not at risk of disintegration. The defence, if not actually enjoying its work in blocking Walcott and the others, was thoroughly prepared for that exercise.
There is so much talk of Chelsea'sdiscipline and professionalism that too little time is left to speak of their talent. With 36 goals in the league, they are now joint top scorers with Arsenal. Their thwarting of the opposition's attackers is, of course, decidedly superior to Wenger's side.
Arsenal were opened up slickly for the first goal here. John Terry, who spends much of his life stifling the opposition's creativity, played a lovely left-footed pass to release Cole in the 42nd minute. Drogba then jammed home the cross off the inside of the post. Four minutes later another expert cross from the left-back was turned into his own net by Thomas Vermaelen.
The centre-half will have felt unfortunate but it was the mood of general inadequacy that will truly pain Arsenal. The margin of defeat could have been greater, although it would have been unlucky if Manuel Almunia had not responded to turn a ricochet behind when Drogba's drive broke off the chest of Lampard in the 64th minute.
If some of these Chelsea players are in the later stages of their careers, then fans should treasure them all the more. Anelka, who may reportedly be offered a new contract worth £120,000 a week, looks a clever and incisive partner for Drogba. The Frenchman is apparently irked by the reputation he once had, with Arsenal, as a goal-snatcher who simply played on the shoulder of the last defender.
It was no insult to classify him as a predator but Anelka has always wanted more recognition of his full repertoire. He is an accomplice of imagination and cunning for Drogba nowadays. Chelsea have far to go yet before they check the domination of Manchester United, who have taken the last three league titles. Even so Ancelotti has made his club believe the best is yet to come.

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Mail:

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3:

Real leader John Terry is so 'influencial' as Carlo Ancelotti's men romp home

Matt Lawton Chief Football Correspondent

To be fair to those chaps who have made such a mess of trying to maximise John Terry’s commercial potential, they got it half right. Their man is influential.
Not quite among ‘the world’s most influencial (sic) people’ but hugely influential within the boundaries of a football pitch.
Chelsea’s captain was immense here at the Emirates, and actually more deserving of the man-of-the-match champagne than the guy he later awarded it to.
Didier Drogba was terrific, scoring two quite brilliant goals that took his tally against Arsenal to 10 in nine matches. But he would have been the first to recognise where this encounter was won and lost.
It was won in the areas where Chelsea crushed the life out of Arsenal, in a manner that exposed the home side’s enduring frailties and demonstrated how difficult it will be for anyone to stop Carlo Ancelotti’s team running away with the title.
Enlarge It was Terry who set the tone. Terry who marshalled an impenetrable Chelsea back line that simply smothered every elaborate Arsenal attack; Terry who even made the surging run from deep that led to Drogba’s first goal.
Against Terry and a team who were faster, stronger and more effective in every department, Arsenal were reminded of where they still need to develop before they can consider themselves serious championship contenders. Even if they might yet point to the absence of Robin van Persie and Nicklas Bendtner.
This was a painful experience for Arsenal, and not just because Ashley Cole delivered the crosses for the first two goals. It was painful because, for all their possession, they made so little impression on a Chelsea team they now trail by 11 points.
According to the statisticians, indeed a deluded Arsene Wenger, they deserved more based on the fact that they successfully executed 479 passes to Chelsea’s 378. But Chelsea used the ball with ruthless efficiency and never let Arsenal pass the ball around when it was in their third of the pitch.
In truth, Arsenal were hugely disappointing.
They deserve credit for donating their wages for the day to Great Ormond Street Hospital but on a weekend when Cesc Fabregas said Arsenal fans were ‘proud’ to pay £40 to watch them, they might want to reimburse their disgruntled supporters too.
They were alarmingly ineffective up front, Eduardo and Andrey Arshavin delivering the kind of performance that suggested flair and finesse had never been part of their game.
It was bizarre, Eduardo seemingly possessing the touch of a semi-pro centre half and Arshavin strangely hesitant in front of goal. Before the diminutive Russian had a goal disallowed for Eduardo’s high challenge on Petr Cech, he squandered a brilliant opportunity to strike by taking two or three touches and so inviting Branislav Ivanovic to win the ball.
Wenger might have tried to rewrite history later but the four-letter expletives must have been flowing in response to the sight of his players making so insignificant an impact against such brilliantly organised opposition. After criticising FIFA for failing to punish Chelsea on Friday, the world governing body might want to respond.
For Wenger, the truth will hurt. While his side have now lost to Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City this season, not to mention Sunderland, Chelsea have claimed the scalps of Arsenal, United and Liverpool.
One team look like champions. The other most definitely do not. Chelsea ooze class and confidence.
In defence, where Terry, Ricardo Carvalho and Ashley Cole form such a formidable barrier; in midfield, where Ancelotti can afford to leave Michael Ballack on the bench; and in attack, where Joe Cole excelled and Nicolas Anelka shone almost as brightly as Drogba, so outstanding was he in terms of industry and invention. It was his super reverse ball that invited Ashley Cole to cross for the second goal.
Their first came just four minutes earlier, four minutes before the end of an absorbing opening half and largely as a result not only of an impressive Terry run but also a pass in to the feet of Cole that was exquisite.
And one of a number of Bobby Moore-style passes he delivered here in the pouring rain.
From Terry’s delivery, Cole also did well, creating enough space for himself to guide a cross past Bacary Sagna that Drogba then met with a quite brilliant volley that he guided cleverly beyond the reach of Manuel Almunia. The kind of finish that gets better the more times you watch it, not least because it is the deftest of touches that diverts the ball into the top corner of the Arsenal net.
The second goal was similar in that it again came as a result of a cross from Cole. But it differed in the fact that it was the mere presence of Drogba that created a sense of panic and so forced the error.
After William Gallas had failed to get a touch, it fell to Thomas Vermaelen to deal with the danger, but a defender who has been brilliant since he arrived in north London contrived to guide the ball past Almunia into his own net and extend Chelsea’s lead. Their disallowed goal aside, Arsenal offered little in response after the break, even after Wenger had sent on Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky from the bench.
Chelsea were comfortably in control, increasing their advantage when Drogba followed a foul from Fabregas on Michael Essien by scoring with a stunning free-kick.
Ancelotti was delighted and almost as excited by the victory as he was by the prospect of meeting his ‘favourite singer’, Elton John, when Chelsea face Watford in the third round of the FA Cup.

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Sun:

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3

From SHAUN CUSTIS at The Emirates

AS Chelsea march on at the top, the case for the defence is proving as compelling as that of the strike-force.
While two goals from deadly Didier Drogba helped condemn Arsenal to a comprehensive stuffing, it was the outstanding double-act of Gunners old-boy Ashley Cole and skipper John Terry which laid the foundations.
Cole was booed from the moment the game started to when he limped off 20 minutes from time. But Cashley had the last laugh on his detractors playing a key part in the first two goals.
Terry led his men magnificently, displaying Beckenbauer-like skill going forward and putting his head and boot in the way whenever the occasion demanded.
His back-four has kept eight clean sheets in the last nine games allowing those in front to perform with freedom and confidence knowing that even if they lose the ball, those behind will bail them out.
No wonder Manchester City tried so hard to sign the England talisman in the summer.
What a difference he would have made to that dodgy defence
And how the Blues would have missed Terry had he gone.
He was getting stick last week for apparently trying to make more money on the side by exploiting his commercial value.
Chelsea fans could not care less as long as he continues doing the business and England followers won't give a monkey's either if he performs in similar fashion at the World Cup.
This was a very big win to go with the important successes over Manchester United and Liverpool.
Terry's display of emotion at the end said it all as he pumped his fists and embraced his team-mates
The looks of dejection on the face of Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger and his players also told their own story.
Without the cutting edge of the injured Robin van Persie they are impotent. Beaten at Sunderland and now this.
Van Persie was in the form of his life before his ankle injury playing for Holland which will keep him out for five months.
He was the focal point of the Gunners gameplan and without him they have lost direction.
Passes went astray, attacks broke down and there was no strength in the penalty area.
Terry just shrugged his challengers off like he was swatting a fly.
Chelsea were superior in every department and were probably more comfortable than when they beat Arsenal 4-1 at the Emirates back in May.
They lead the table by five points, are 11 points ahead of the Gunners, and show absolutely no signs of slipping up.
Manager Carlo Ancelotti has developed a well-oiled machine which just needs gentle tweaking now and again to keep it purring.
Wenger was grumbling afterwards about a goal from Andrey Arshavin which was disallowed by ref Andre Marriner because of a high-foot by Eduardo on Petr Cech with the score already 2-0 to the visitors.
But, even if it had been given, it is unlikely Arsenal would have got back into the match.
Wenger only sees what he wants to and Chelsea had gripes of their own.
They could point to the fact that Drogba was flagged when clearly onside after 15 minutes and may well have gone on to score the opener.
There was also a questionable challenge by Bacary Sagna on another ex-Gunner Nicolas Anelka in the penalty area which might have been worth a spot-kick.
Arsenal hardly created a chance while Terry was enjoying striding forward and spraying passes left and right.
It was his glorious ball which inspired Chelsea's first goal on 41 minutes as he fed the rampaging left-back Cole with the outside of his right foot.
Cole collected in his stride, teased Sagna, and whipped in a cross for Drogba who got between William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen to divert the ball into the top corner.
Chelsea quickly got a second on the stroke of half-time with Cole again the creator as his cross eluded the sliding Gallas and went in off Vermaelen's shin.
Maybe Arsenal should have given Cole that extra £5,000- a-week he was always belly- aching on about after all.
You would have been hard-pressed to find a Gooner anywhere who thought his men would stage a recovery.
They introduced Theo Walcott at half-time but to no avail. And, when Arshavin's goal was ruled out, their pessimism was confirmed.
Lampard almost got a third as the ball hit him and Manuel Almunia flew to his right to save superbly.
Chelsea's strength was there for all to see as Armand Traore bounced off Drogba and Arshavin cannoned off Branislav Ivanovic in a cameo which starkly illustrated Blues' dominance.
Chelsea then wrapped it up as Drogba curled a 25-yard free-kick exquisitely round the wall with four minutes left.
It was Drogba's 10th goal in nine games against Arsenal - yet Wenger reckoned afterwards that the Ivory Coast striker does not do a lot.
Goodness knows how many he would get if he actually put his mind to it

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Telegraph:

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3

By Jason Burt, Deputy Football Correspondent

Arsenal's title hopes took a significant, possibly fatal blow as they were brushed aside by the power and threat of Chelsea which was epitomised by a frightening performance by Didier Drogba.
Two first-half goals just before half-time, and a late free-kick, sent Arsenal reeling and means they are now 11 points behind the Premier League leaders who, with this victory, also stretched their advantage over Manchester United back to five points.
It will hurt Arsenal supporters all the more that both of the first-half goals were the result of crosses by their former player, Ashley Cole, who later departed with a suspected hamstring injury. The Chelsea left-back was booed throughout and, at the start of the contest, appeared to be affected but he rallied to tee up Drogba and also force an own goal by Thomas Vermaelen.
Drogba’s finish, a superbly guided, side-footed volley after he stole in between William Gallas and Vermeulen came after John Terry’s clever pass down the left wing. Minutes later and Ashley Cole again burst down the flank to centre, again towards Drogba, but as Gallas lunged in to try and cut it out he distracted Vermeuelen with the ball then deflecting into the goal off the defender’s thigh. It struck the same post as Drogba had hit before it nestled into the net.
It was just before the end that Drogba heaped embarrassment, making the scoreline even more emphatic as he struck a fierce free-kick, after Cesc Fabregas had tripped Frank Lampard. It was Drogba’s tenth goal in nine games and, so often the scourge of Arsenal, his 10th in 11 fixtures against them.
It was an awesome statement of intent from Chelsea and their main striker. Drogba could have had a hat-trick. He had wasted two headed opportunities while Nicolas Anelka could have had a penalty as he tangled with Bacary Sagna inside the area after he ran onto a perceptive pass from Lampard who, as expected, returned from injury it what was effectively a full strength Chelsea side.
Arsenal sorely missed the injured Robin Van Persie who, it was confirmed over the weekend, will be out for four to five months because of an ankle injury. Arsene Wenger’s side enjoyed plenty of possession in the sodden conditions but were unable to carve out clear-cut chances with Samir Nasri forcing a smart save from Petr Cech.
Andrei Arshavin had the ball in the net but the effort was rightly ruled out by referee Andre Marriner after Eduardo had kicked it out of Cech’s hands as he tried to collect a cross following Drogba’s woeful back-pass. Arsenal threw on more strikers, with Branislav Ivanovic surviving a penalty appeal for a tackle on substitute Carlos Vela, but Lampard went close when deflecting a cross, forcing a fine save from Almunia.
Arsenal kept trying to penetrate the Chelsea defence who were resolutely and impressively marshalled by John Terry and who comfortably withstood the pressure. Chelsea were just too strong and now appear to be too far ahead of Arsenal also.

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Mirror:

Arsenal 0-3 Chelsea

By Martin Lipton

And then there were two.
Empahtically, unambiguously, no doubt about it, down to the two, between Carlo Ancelotti’s remorseless Blues and United’s Red shadow.
The Arsenal fans who began draining out of the Emirates at the instant Didier Drogba sounded the Last Post of their title dream, knew it too, knew that for all the animosity, they had been beaten hollow.
If ever 90 minutes emphasised the gulf that divides Ancelotti’s men and Arsene Wenger’s boys, this was unquestionably that game, the 11-point gap surely unbridgeable even at this early stage.
It was not just Ashley Cole’s return to haunt the Arsenal fans who will never forgive his perceived treachery,which brought two in three minutes from first Drogba and then poor Thomas Vermaelen before the break.
Nor, although that sparked the final exodus, was it even Drogba’s 14th of what is already a stellar season for the hulking Ivorian, as good a free-kick as you will see all campaign.
This was a bigger demonstration than the score-line alone, no matter how stark that statistic stood.
Last night, what was graphically, abundantly and painfully clear was that in every area where Arsenal were remiss and callow, Chelsea were rampant and resolute, the embodiment of controlled, directed, unstoppable power.
A power Arsenal could not deal with or compete with, a physical force that blew them away and then ensured an eighth clean sheet in nine games.
There could be no quibbling, no complaining, no moaning about the injuries, even if Wenger will have to concede, at last, that he has to spend in January to replace Robin Van Persie and add bulk to his squad.
This was about endeavour and desire, determination and drive.
And where Arsenal’s back line could not cope with the pressure, wobbled under every ball into the box as Drogba lurked and Nicolas Anelka wove his patterns, at the other end the indomitable, peerless John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho were everything Vermaelen and William Gallas were not.
When Arsenal dominated possession in the opening period, seeking to prise out an opening, they were constantly blocked, stymied, baulked and blunted by the twin Chelsea towers, who made Eduardo look slovenly in his touch.
Yet once Ancelotti’s men release the handbrake and looked to hit, there was an inevitability about what would follow.
The surprise was that it took until three minutes before the interval, although the goal would have come sooner had Andre Marriner spotted Bacary Sagna hooking Anelka off the ball when Frank Lampard played him in just after the quarter-hour.
Anelka did not protest, perhaps aware that the balance had swung towards Ancelotti’s side, and while the had to wait, it was all over before the interval.
The first came when Terry strode forward to release Cole, jeered relentlessly even as he showed Sagna the inside before going the other way to cross.
Cole’s delivery was perfect, between Vermaelen and Gallas, with Drogba’s side-foot caressing home off first the bar and then the post, with Almunia helpless.
Three minutes later, and Cole repeated the centre, Gallas hesitated and Vermaelen looked on in anguish as his knee sent the ball against the same spot of upright and again over the line.
Wenger, seeking a response and salvation, sent on Theo Walcott but to scant effect as Chelsea’s defensive blanket snuffed out the half-chances, many of which fell to Eduardo.
The Brazilian-born Croatian had another chance at the start of the second period, played in by a careless back pass but when the loose ball fell to Andriy Arshavin, Branislav Ivanovic summed up the difference as he appeared to block the Russian.
Seconds later, Arshavin’s celebrations at forcing home were cut short for Eduardo’s adjudged high boot but while Wenger protested, the fight went out if his men.
Lampard, twice, might have got a third but four minutes from time, when Cesc Fabregas downed the surging Michael Essien, Drogba had the final word.
Drogba has destroyed Arsenal before, of course, but his 10th in 11 games against the Gunners was the best of the lot, a truly sensational free-kick that simply flew home.
The Arsenal fans started for home before Drogba’s celebrations began, the Emirates in mourning.
Chelsea, though, have never looked more formidable, not even under Jose Mourinho.
That fact will make Ancelotti even happier. Fergie knows what he must beat. So, too, does the rest of Europe.

Arsenal (4-3-2-1): Almunia 6; Sagna 5, Gallas 6, Vermaelen 5, Traore 6; Song 5 (Walcott, 46, 5), Fabregas 6, Denilson 4; Nasri 6 Rosicky, Arshavin 6; Eduardo 5 (Vela, 56, 5)
Chelsea (4-3-1-2): Cech 7; Ivanovic 6, Carvalho 8, Terry 9, A Cole 7 (Ferreira, 72, 6); Essien 7, Mikel 6, Lampard 7; J Cole 7 (Deco, 68, 5); Anelka 7, Drogba 9 (Malouda 87).
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