arsenal 2-0

The Times

Didier Drogba steals the show again for Chelsea
Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0
Oliver Kay, Stamford Bridge

This felt like watching an old movie for the umpteenth time. It was a bit of a mish-mash, unsure at times whether it wanted to be art house or blockbuster, but, to the surprise of nobody except Arsène Wenger, it ended up as an action film, starring the irrepressible Didier Drogba.
Wenger seemed dismayed that Chelsea had emerged triumphant against his Arsenal team yet again, leaving them nine points adrift in the Barclays Premier League title race, but, to just about everyone else inside Stamford Bridge yesterday, this was the movie they had been expecting: Arsenal pretty, Chelsea ruthlessly efficient, Drogba at his belligerent best.
An interesting picture, compelling at times, but all so very predictable — Arsenal’s eighth defeat in nine matches against Chelsea or Manchester United since November 2008.
Sitting in the media suite afterwards, Wenger found it within him to congratulate Chelsea, but only in a manner of speaking. “Efficient”, “very strong defensively”, “a lot of the tricks of an experienced team” — coming from most managers, these would sound like compliments, but, from Wenger, who has made clear his disregard for such virtues, this was faint praise, as he made clear by pointing out that “we didn’t get a demonstration of football” from Carlo Ancelotti’s team.
What we did get from Chelsea, though, was spirit, endeavour, aggression, knowhow and power, above all from Drogba. It was always going to take something significant to overshadow John Terry after the week he has had and, even if the eye was drawn to the Chelsea captain at the final whistle as he applauded all four sides of the ground before throwing his shirt into the crowd, after a typically robust performance at the heart of the defence, it was Drogba who proved the difference between these teams.
Drogba, according to Wenger, “didn’t do a lot in the game” when he scored twice in Chelsea’s 3-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium in November. Well, he did plenty yesterday, giving Chelsea an eighth-minute lead by volleying home Terry’s flick-on from a corner by Florent Malouda and doubling their advantage midway through the first half with a quite brilliant goal as Arsenal were caught on the counter-attack, taking his record against Arsenal to 12 goals in his past 12 outings against them.
He also rattled the crossbar with a free kick and, as for his all-round contribution, it would be interesting to hear the appraisal of William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen when they get their breath back.
Put it this way: if Drogba had swapped places with Andrey Arshavin yesterday, leading the line for Arsenal while the tiny Russian went up front for Chelsea, it is very easy to imagine that there would have been a different outcome.
Arsenal played very well at times, but, for all that Wenger said they had “mountains” of possession, they did not do enough to hurt Chelsea. They were unfortunate to find their opponents at their most resilient, with Terry and his colleagues intent on the kind of defensive fortitude that was sorely lacking away to Hull City four days earlier, but Arsenal did not have enough up front. While the presence of the injured Robin van Persie would have helped, Wenger should resist clutching at straws.
When informed of Wenger’s assertion about Chelsea’s lack of “football”, Ancelotti came up with a response that, even in broken English, was withering. “Maybe they had possession, but this isn’t football,” he said. “You can’t speak about a match only for the possession. You have to attack, defence, counter-attack, keep the result. That is football.”
Ancelotti is right. Arsenal excel in one facet of the game — the one that Wenger holds more important than any other — but they are flawed.
Their lack of defensive nous was illustrated as early as the first minute, when Bacary Sagna found himself left one-on-one against Drogba at the back. Arsenal got away with it that time, but when Malouda took a corner from the left wing, Terry got away from Vermaelen and Abou Diaby to attack the ball at the near post and send a header across the six-yard box for the unmarked Drogba to score.
Wenger looked bemused. His team had been camped deep inside the Chelsea half — and stayed there for much of the first period — but there always seemed to be a blue shirt blocking their way. Even when Fàbregas picked out Arshavin in the seventeenth minute, the forward’s volley went straight at Petr Cech.
Six minutes after that Arshavin lost the ball on the edge of the Chelsea penalty area and Lampard led a counter-attack that culminated in Drogba cutting inside Gaël Clichy and lashing a left-foot shot past Manuel Almunia. Game over.
Losing goals on the counter-attack has become one of the great sins of modern football, but it just keeps happening to Arsenal. Drogba’s second goal brought echoes of Wayne Rooney’s goal at the Emirates Stadium seven days earlier, itself a reminder of Cristiano Ronaldo’s effort in the Champions League semi-final, second leg last season. Arsenal can look irresistible when they have the ball, but the second they lose it, they are alarmingly vulnerable.
By certain definitions, Arsenal were the better side in the second half, forcing the home team farther and farther back, but, even when Samir Nasri and Nicklas Bendtner briefly caught sight of goal, there was always a blue shirt in the way. At times it was Michael Ballack or Lampard, but usually it was Branislav Ivanovic, Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole or, most probably, an unfaltering Terry.
Again Wenger found himself talking about what might have been, but it is the same old soundtrack. The same old failings are exposed every time Arsenal face a top-class team. It is not bad luck. They are a very good team, but if the Premier League title is to be wrestled back to London this year, its only destination can be Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea (4-1-3-2): P Cech 7 B Ivanovic 7 R Carvalho 7 J Terry 7 A Cole 7 J O Mikel 6 M Ballack 6 F Lampard 6 F Malouda 7 N Anelka 6 D Drogba 9. Substitutes: Y Zhirkov (for Ballack, 82min), J Cole (for Anelka, 87), S Kalou (for Drogba, 90). Not used: Hilário, P Ferreira, Alex, Deco. Next: Everton (a).

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): M Almunia 5 B Sagna 4 W Gallas 6 T Vermaelen 5 G Clichy 4 A Song 6 A Diaby 5 T Walcott 4 F Fàbregas 6 S Nasri 4 A Arshavin 5. Substitutes: N Bendtner 5 (for Walcott, 64min), E Eboué (for Sagna, 74), T Rosicky (for Diaby, 74). Not used: L Fabianski, S Campbell, Denilson, A Ramsey. Next: Liverpool (h).
Referee: M Dean. Attendance: 41,794.

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Telegraph:
Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0:
By Jeremy Wilson at Stamford Bridge

Sir Alex Ferguson had expressed the hope that Arsenal would “absolutely batter” Chelsea this afternoon, but it was Arsène Wenger’s team who were on the end of yet another sound beating against what are fast becoming the Premier League’s ‘big two’.
Between them, Chelsea and Manchester United have won the past five league titles and have also now each beaten Arsenal four times in 10 months. This 2-0 win extends Chelsea’s lead over Arsenal to nine points and, with only 13 games remaining, reinforces the expectation of another two-horse title race.
Sport on television It was another major occasion when Wenger’s huge confidence in his young team was not realised while his previous assessment of Didier Drogba as a player who “doesn’t do much” was also further undermined. Drogba had scored twice in Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat of Arsenal at the Emirates and duly put the league leaders two goals clear today after just 22 minutes.
It also took Drogba’s tally for the season to 22 – and his personal haul against Arsenal to 12.
Poor defending contributed to both goals. The first arrived on eight minutes when Florent Malouda delivered a corner onto the head of an unmarked John Terry, who simply guided the ball across goal for Didier Drogba to volley beyond Manuel Almunia. Wenger was complaining vigorously to the fourth official, presumably in reference to a foul that had been awarded against Gael Clichy in the build-up to the goal.
Arsenal almost immediately had the chance to equalise but Andrei Arshavin volleyed into the legs of Petr Cech when he had the goal at his mercy following a wonderful Cesc Fabregas pass.
It was a miss that was quickly punished, although the source of Drogba’s second will have infuriated Wenger. Having called his team “naïve” after Manchester United scored twice from Arsenal corners last Sunday, his players again showed their vulnerability when they were attacking.
Following an Arsenal corner, Frank Lampard burst forward and simply fed the ball to Drogba wide on the right. Clichy, in particular, offered only negligible protection as Drogba cut inside and then smashed his shot beyond Almunia.
Arsenal improved during the second-half, particularly when Nicklas Bendtner was introduced and provided a different sort of threat with his more physical presence.
He won a free kick from which Fabregas forced a decent save but, generally, Arsenal continue to lack a natural focal point in attack without Robin van Persie. With Drogba again deadly – he also rocked the crossbar with an 83rd minute free kick – the same cannot be said of Chelsea.

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Independent:

Drogba dumps meek Arsenal out of title race
Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0
By Glenn Moore

It was fun while it lasted, but the Premier League table now tells the same old tale: Chelsea and Manchester United in a duel for the title, Arsenal and Liverpool scrapping for the final automatic Champions League place.
This defeat ends Arsenal's championship challenge. They were top on 20 January, but one point from successive matches against Aston Villa, Manchester United and Chelsea have left them nine points behind the latter who are back at the summit. Although Arsène Wenger insisted his team would not give up, Wednesday's visit of Liverpool is now about the minor placings.
The executioner was their old nemesis, Didier Drogba. Goals after eight and 23 minutes took his personal tally to 12 in 10 matches against Arsenal. Not bad for a player who, said Wenger after Drogba's brace at the Emirates in November, "does not do very much".
Neatly though the Ivorian took his goals a critical factor was, as in last week's defeat to United, the poverty of Arsenal's defending, with both goals easily preventable. Just as telling was the inadequacy of their attack. In retrospect Arsenal's challenge really ended when Giorgio Chiellini's tackle damaged Robin van Persie's ankle ligaments on international duty three months ago. Without the Dutchman they lack a finisher and a presence.
In his absence Wenger has played Andrei Arshavin at centre-forward (a telling indication of his real opinion of Nicklas Bendtner). That worked when the Russian was in form but after one goal in 10 games his confidence is low and, as against United last week, he finished poorly.
The comparison with Drogba, leading Chelsea's line, was irresistible but it was not the only position in which Arsenal were lightweight. Wenger dropped Denilson and Tomas Rosicky, both ineffective against United, and replaced them with the muscle of Abou Diaby and pace of Theo Walcott. Both were anonymous and withdrawn. Cesc Fabregas unconsciously illustrated one difference between the teams when he demonstrated the disparity in height between himself and Drogba after being penalised for a push. The referee, Mike Dean, did not appreciate the gesture and booked him. The irony is that it was Wenger, a decade ago, who pioneered the move towards footballers like Drogba.
Physique, however, has no effect on concentration, the lack of which on Arsenal's part caused both goals. At Chelsea's first corner too many switched off. Thomas Vermaelen failed to run with John Terry, Alex Song did not mark Drogba, and Gaël Clichy came off the back post as Florent Malouda prepared to take the kick. Terry, unchallenged, headed the ball on and Drogba tapped in at the far post.
The indefatigable Fabregas, outstanding in a lost cause, led Arsenal's response. Given a free role, he eluded Chelsea's attentions and created chances for Samir Nasri and Arshavin with sublime passes. Petr Cech, who looked back to his best, not least when dealing with crosses, denied them both. Then Arshavin again lost possession in attack, the ball was moved swiftly to Frank Lampard, and he drove forward. With Clichy positionally bewildered and Arsenal backing off, Lampard released Drogba who cut inside Clichy and Vermaelen to score.
Chelsea now had Arsenal just where they wanted them: chasing the game. Arsenal passed, passed and passed, but Lampard, Michael Ballack and John Obi Mikel threw up a protective shield they just could not penetrate. And, given the height differential, the aerial route was suicide, especially with Terry delivering an extraordinarily assured performance following his week of turmoil.
Arsenal upped their game physically in the second period – Wenger seemed infuriated by the way they were bundled off the ball in the first – but still lacked the wit and power to pierce Chelsea's defence. Bendtner, then Rosicky, were added and the former precipitated Arsenal's best effort when he won a 68th-minute free-kick, from which Fabregas drew a full-length save from Cech. Even then Chelsea came closer, Drogba thrashing a thunderous free-kick against the bar with seven minutes left.
A third goal would have been cruel on Arsenal but they have some hard realities to face. Afterwards Wenger pointed to Arsenal's dominance of possession and moaned that Chelsea "were efficient but had not provided a demonstration of football". The Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelotti, countered that "possession is not football. Football is about attack and defence." Arsenal's defence, despite the presence of the experienced William Gallas, lacks concentration and is insufficiently protected by midfield. The attack has been left one-dimensional by Emmanuel Adebayor's departure.
There is also the issue of the goalkeeper, and their collective experience. "They are [aged 29], we are 23," said Wenger (below) in a rare admission that his team's youth is a weakness. He also seems finally to have realised Manuel Almunia lacks title-winning calibre but can now do nothing about it until the summer.
Arsenal remain a fine side but two wins in 16 matches against Chelsea is telling. It may be the team is better suited to European competition, where their energies will now be focused, but even there Chelsea and Manchester United bar the way. So it seemed symbolic that when a Continental-style flare was lit in the away end it shone brightly for a while, but was then doused by the boys in blue.

Chelsea (4-1-2-3): Cech; Ivanovic, Carvalho, Terry, A Cole; Mikel; Lampard, Ballack (Zhirkov, 81); Anelka (J Cole, 86), Drogba (Kalou, 90), Malouda. Substitutes not used: Hilario (gk), Ferreira, Deco, Alex.

Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Almunia; Sagna (Eboué, 73), Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy; Song, Diaby (Rosicky, 73); Walcott (Bendtner, 63), Fabregas, Nasri; Arshavin. Substitutes not used: Fabianski (gk), Denilson, Ramsey, Campbell.

Referee: M Dean (Staffordshire).
Booked: Chelsea Zhirkov. Arsenal Song, Fabregas.
Man of the match: Drogba.
Attendance: 41,794.

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Guardian:

Chelsea's Didier Drogba devastates brittle Arsenal at the Bridge
Chelsea 2 Drogba 8, Drogba 23 Arsenal 0
Kevin McCarra at Stamford Bridge

Arsenal are being strangled by stereotype. Their familiar troubles against Chelsea and Manchester United were on display once more. The immediate impact of this match is to put the victors two points clear of the Old Trafford side but the impact on the visitors is more profound. They are nine points adrift and, barring unlikely triumph in the Champions League, this will be a fifth consecutive campaign without a trophy since Arsène Wenger's team landed the 2005 FA Cup.
The Premier League is the poorer for that decline. No Arsenal supporter, of course, would dwell on that topic. Anger and exasperation with today's match would not have left much space for broader reflection. Their team dominated possession for much of the time but Chelsea were content for the opposition to have as much of the ball when so little use was made of it.
Carlo Ancelotti's team were as devastating as they needed to be, with Didier Drogba preying on these opponents as usual. The Ivorian was close to a hat-trick with a free-kick that cracked against the crossbar but his impact had already been sufficient. If anything, John Terry might have been slightly frustrated by the anodyne attacks. The centre-half would have relished more opportunities in which to prove that he is undiminished by disappointment after being stripped of the England captaincy.
Arsenal's opportunities were sporadic and this loss was of a piece with the 3-1 defeat by United at the Emirates the previous weekend. Wenger's team did suggest fleetingly that they would set this game on a different course. With Arsenal a goal down, Andrey Arshavin was set up by a Cesc Fábregas pass but the volley was not aimed well enough and it rebounded from the foot of Petr Cech.
The Russian is not cut out to be a centre-forward and had the job because of the ankle problem that has sidelined Robin van Persie since 7 November. Resources are slim in that area and Wenger is gravely affected by the lack of a convincing contender. No manager could be blamed for snatching the £25m that Manchester City offered for Emmanuel Adebayor but the price of failing to find a replacement is now looking steep.
by Guardian Chalkboards Arsenal attempted over 500 passes at Stamford Bridge with a success rate of over 80%. Chelsea on the other hand made nearly 200 fewer passes but scored twice. For all Arsenal's possession, a reluctance to shoot meant they managed to test Petr Cech in the Chelsea goal just twice in 90 minutes. Wenger was trying to maintain morale when he spoke of Arsenal's domination. In essence Chelsea were happy to allow that possession, knowing they could deal with the consequences and cause havoc on the break. Ancelotti has a range of alternatives, too, that his opposite number does not enjoy.
Here, for instance, Deco was on the bench and his recent duties as a holding midfield player were assumed by the more authentically defensive Mikel John Obi. Fábregas was not entirely nullified buthis threat was at its keenest from a late free-kick that was pushed away by Cech. The substitute Nicklas Bendtner's appeal for a penalty in the aftermath was dismissed.
The visitors' players had been denied a day off following the defeat by United but no matter how hard the squad laboured on the training ground they have not entirely mended their ways. After seven minutes Florent Malouda's corner from the left was headed on by a virtually unmarked Terry and Drogba waited to fire the ball home easily past the static goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.
A spell of pressure by the visitors was interrupted as Chelsea extended their lead. Arsenal's fallibility often stems, as United had shown, from a lack of resilience in midfield. It was ludicrously easy, in the 23rd minute, for Frank Lampard to break forward and work the ball to Drogba on the right. The Ivorian had room to tear into the penalty area and race across the hapless Gaël Clichy, as well as Thomas Vermaelen, before scoring with a low shot.
The best that can be said of Arsenal is that they had not come to Stamford Bridge in the expectation of being watertight. Abou Diaby was back to add physical presence in midfield but Wenger had also decided to pick Theo Walcott on the right wing in a strategy that thereby invited Fábregas to pose a threat just behind Arshavin.
The plan had no effect. Wenger, in his present anguish, probably cannot spare a moment to agonise about England's chances in the summer. He will be keenly conscious, all the same, of Walcott's decline. The attacker is unrecognisable as the man who scored that hat-trick in Zagreb. This outing was his first start in the Premier League since mid-December. That arch-empiricist Fabio Capello would surely find it impossible to identify evidence to justify taking Walcott to the World Cup finals.
Chelsea, of course, have few youngsters who are central to their scheme. That may be a problem for them as a rather gnarled squad ages further but Ancelotti's men are not in their dotage yet. They had a great reserve of know-how to draw upon and produced the clean sheet that has not been quite so common as it once was. That might signal a deepening level of concentration as the key moments approach in the bid to wrest the title from United.

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Mail:

Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0:
Deadly Didier Drogba rifles Blues to the summit as John Terry stands tall to wreck Gunners' title bid
Martin Samuel

Here comes another one, just like the other one. Cast your minds back to November when Chelsea went to Arsenal. Yes? Well, it was like this. Didier Drogba unstoppable, Chelsea irresistible, Arsene Wenger certifiable.
Arsenal had 70 per cent of possession, he claimed. They were always on the front foot and in the game, apparently. It was not an exhibition of football from Chelsea. Not in the purest sense, maybe.Not in terms of beauty for its sake, but from the seventh minute, when Chelsea scored, there was only going to be one winner and Wenger is in denial if he cannot see that. Arsenal had more of the ball - 58 per cent, actually - but Chelsea had the game, and their manager, Carlo Ancelotti, had the more incisive analysis.
Football, he said, is not only about possession, it is about attack, defence, possession when you need it and, most of all, results. QED.
There have been two meetings between Chelsea and Arsenal this season, ending in six points for Chelsea and none for Arsenal.
The aggregate score is 5-0. Wenger can dress it up as he likes, but he is dealing in theory. In every aspect of the match that counts towards the League table - goals scored, goals conceded and points won - Chelsea have been superior this season.
Wenger is reduced to citing peripheral issues. It is like measuring the success of a stable not on races won or placed finishes but on getting the rosette for best turned out in the paddock.
Chelsea were superb on Sunday because the forwards had the game won after 22 minutes and the defence kept it under wraps from there.
Drogba was the inspirational match-winner - as he was at the Emirates Stadium - and as anyone who knows him would have expected, John Terry was outstanding in Chelsea's back line.
The home crowd helped. Terry will have opprobrium to contend with at Goodison on Wednesday, but here he was among friends.
He was serenaded with a supportive cry of 'one England captain' - and that is not a song his successor Rio Ferdinand, of Manchester United, will ever get to hear because they do not care about England captains at Old Trafford - encouraged throughout and, at the end, responded by walking to all sides of the ground, before taking his shirt off and handing it to a gathering behind one goal.
His banner stood proudly defiant. 'JT: captain, leader, legend'. He may not enjoy such exalted status with his country any more, but at his club he still ticks each box.
He should have departed injured after a second-half collision with his goalkeeper Petr Cech, but soldiered on, as he always does.Ancelotti, ever sensitive to the moods of his key team members, indulged him.
It is telling, though, that Terry was impressive here more due to his personal circumstances than any challenge presented by Arsenal.
When Cesc Fabregas attempted to match him in an aerial tussle, he came off second best, with Terry almost bemused by the assault.

It was like one of the moments when a small, yappy dog goes for a Doberman in the high street. It takes the bigger animal a little while to work out he is under attack.Terry helped up the fallen Fabregas in kindly fashion.
Throughout the trauma of recent weeks, Terry has channelled his abilities into decisive performances for Chelsea, and this was just one more.
He did not score the important goal - as he did at Burnley last week - but he played a crucial part and Arsenal never recovered.To lose Terry at a corner is misfortune. To lose Drogba is carelessness. To lose Terry and Drogba is flaming suicidal. Arsenal took option three.
Much is made of the corporeal difference between these teams but it was the big men who let Arsenal down here. Thomas Vermaelen mislaid Terry, getting trapped behind Abou Diaby when the Chelsea captain made his run, and Alex Song lost Drogba.
Florent Malouda whipped the ball in, Terry won the first header and Drogba converted. There are all sorts of ways of quantifying the decisive factor between the teams, but one is to look at the improvement in a player such as Malouda.
In his first season at Chelsea he was, in the vernacular, a fanny merchant. He had little impact in the big matches and, most weeks, he appeared lightweight and ineffectual.
This season, he is a different player and yesterday, in comparison to Arsenal's creatives, he was a powerhouse. Now imagine him at Arsenal. Would he still have evolved into that player or would he be like Samir Nasri is now: a fanny merchant, largely anonymous in this game?
Better than Theo Walcott, though. How worried must Fabio Capello be about him?
Arsenal had their best chance after 16 minutes when Fabregas chipped the ball through to Andrey Arshavin, who was eight yards out with only Cech to beat.
The Russian's finish disappointed, though, straight at the goalkeeper who blocked with his feet.
With brutal timing, Drogba showed what Wenger's team was missing with his second goal from the next attack. It was devastating on more than one level, a text book counter attack that saw Frank Lampard break up the field and Gael Clichy, the Arsenal left back, completely lose his position, allowing Drogba to receive a pass and maraud inside from wide.
He passed two players and then unleashed a shot that left goalkeeper Manuel Almunia helpless. Had he got in the way it would have left a hole in his midriff like a cannon-ball in a Tom and Jerry cartoon.
A wise man, Almunia steered clear of Drogba's shots after that and did not even move when his 82nd-minute free-kick ricocheted explosively off the crossbar.
Had it gone in, the symmetry of the matches with Chelsea would have been unbearable for Wenger; or as painfully unpalatable as the reality of Arsenal's fading title challenge.

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Sun:
Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0
ROB BEASLEY

THERE'S only one Didier Drogba, one England captain, one team in London... and there's only one team top of the league, having a laugh. Celebrating Chelsea fans belted out that message loud and clear at Stamford Bridge last night. But the buoyant Blues crowd missed one out.
There's also only one team that can stop them taking the title - the usual suspects Manchester United.
Arsenal are out of it.
Deadly Drogba's first-half double saw to that as he continued to wage his amazing one-man war against Arsene Wenger's men.
The in-form striker's brilliant brace means he has now hit 12 goals in 12 games against the Gunners.
If you really want to rub it in, then it's 12 goals in 10 starts!
And the scourge of North London wasted little time getting down to business here at the Bridge.
He was first to react in the area after just eight minutes as he nipped in at the far post to convert captain John Terry's header to give Chelsea a valuable early lead.
And 15 minutes later, as the Blues counter-attacked decisively, he collected Frank Lampard's pass wide on the right and cut inside ready to wreak yet more havoc.
His powerful surge into the area saw him weave beyond Arsenal defenders Gael Clichy and Thomas Vermaelen before firing a sweet left-footed shot into the back of the net for his 22nd goal of the season.
The Ivory Coast powerhouse was only denied a hat-trick when his late free-kick bounced back off the crossbar at the Matthew Harding end with six minutes to go.
The damage was already done, though.
Arsenal's latest title tilt is dead and buried for another year no matter how Wenger tries to argue that the better team lost!
Yes, his team did have the bulk of possession. But the footballing truth is that it's not how long you have the ball, it's what you do with it.
And Arsenal did precious little.
On the two occasions they did carve out openings they found Chelsea keeper Petr Cech in unbeatable form.
The Czech star's stunning 17th-minute save to keep out Andrey Arshavin's point-blank shot was a pivotal moment.
And his flying 70th-minute stop from Cesc Fabregas' free-kick spared Chelsea a nervy last 20 minutes.
Cech's heroics also under-scored boss Carlo Ancelotti's key point address afterwards.
The Italian reacted to Wenger's whingeing with a stinging retort.
He said dryly: "Maybe they had more possession - but this is not football.
"It is about attack and defence and we did fantastic attack and fantastic defensive work. We deserved to win."
He was absolutely right.
But just when are Arsenal Gunner learn this simple fact.
For this match was almost a carbon copy of the 3-1 defeat they suffered at the hands of Manchester United at the Emirates the previous weekend. Arsenal made a lot of the running against United, did a lot of the passing but they were cut to pieces by the rampant Reds on the break.
After that humiliation you would have thought they would have been more careful.
Don't they say that once is unfortunate but twice is unforgivable?
And that's the trouble with Arsenal this season: There are more questions than answers about them.
And the biggest question right now is: What the hell are they going to do against Liverpool on Wednesday night?
Surely not the same kamikaze tactics as this.
It's just incredible how the Gunners have crashed and burned in awful fashion in such a short space of time.
They went into a four-match spell over a period of 15 days that many believed would determine their season. The acid test they called it.
Well, a draw at Aston Villa and back-to-back defeats against title rivals United and Chelsea have left them horrifically scarred.
So, Wenger had better come up with a new gameplan to salvage Arsenal's season. And quick.
Defeat against Liverpool will suddenly have the men from the Emirates anxiously looking over their shoulders.
And yet just a week or so ago they were looking upwards.
In contrast, Chelsea can scent only victory after five wins out of their last six in the Premier League.
Even the all-consuming John Terry affair has failed to halt their charge towards the title.
Wenger called them "efficient" and "experienced".
Everyone else was just saying "excellent."
And that man Drogba was undoubtedly the star of the show, rightly receiving a standing ovation when he was substituted late on.
The Drogba fan club included Hollywood hunk Matt Damon who was up on his feet applauding Chelsea's leading man along with the rest.
The Bourne Identity star is in the capital promoting his new film Invictus about South Africa's rugby union World Cup triumph.
As a Chelsea fan, he could soon be scripting another sporting epic.