For some, the number 13 is unlucky.
If Arsenal boss, Arsene Wenger told me it wasn’t his favorite number I’d be inclined to believe him after Didier Drogba made it 13 goals in 13 matches against the Frenchman on Sunday.
When asked, post-match, about the Chelsea striker's exploits, Wenger, through gritted teeth, managed to say: "He’s a good striker, of course, but I believe overall we had no big problems today."
Wow, and I thought politicians were the masters of staying on message.
Arsene, if you’d glanced up towards the Shed End you would’ve noticed a large scoreboard that read Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal. That, in my book, is a big problem as the Blues' record against you since April 2004 makes for dismal reading. Of the seventeen matches played, Chelsea have won 10, drawn 5 and lost only two against Arsenal.
Now if that doesn’t make you weep how about the last time you found the back of Petr Cech’s net? That would be October 5th 2009. What about the last time you scored more than one against John Terry and Co? That has only happened once since December 12th 2004.
It wasn’t always that way though. Between January 1999 and March 2004, Arsene toyed with Chelsea. He beat them up Avenell Road and down the Kings Road. Seventeen matches unbeaten until Wayne Bridge made a name for himself and all changed.
Now it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Filipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink or Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea has your number and it seemingly always boils down to two factors.
Power and Didier Drogba.
How many times have we witnessed Arsenal outplaying Chelsea for large periods of matches only for the ‘Power of the Drogs’ to come into effect? Yesterday was a perfect example.
Half chances fell to the Gunners throughout the match. They weren’t converted, thanks in part to a rock solid effort by the Blues' back line and in particularly John Terry. Then along comes the school yard bully, Didier Drogba to outmuscle Sebastien Squillaci and supply the sublime finish.
The French international was almost mugged again in the second-half when his fellow countryman, Nicolas Anelka also showed more power and surely should’ve scored after rounding Lukasz Fabianski.
In every area of the pitch, Chelsea weren’t a whole lot better than Arsenal. But they were stronger. I can almost hear Wenger moaning about the physicality and he won’t get any complaints from me, but he’s the man that’s got to do something about it.
In the nasty fouls department Ancelotti’s team had by far the bigger edge. Ramires certainly did Alexandre Song. Flourent Malouda was ugly as he raked down on Bakari Sagna's shin while Michael Essien certainly went over the top on Abou Diaby.
Where was the Arsenal warrior? The man for the fight? The guv’nor of midfield? Oh yeah, that’s right. He’s playing for Manchester City.
There is so much to admire about Arsenal but the problems of five years ago are the problems of now. Nothing has changed. This team is still the most fluent and attractive to watch but it is impossible for them to win the big titles in the modern day without an Essien, a John Obi Mikel, a Drogba and until Wenger comes to terms with that we’ll keep hearing the following:
"I believe we showed outstanding quality and we have to keep battling and fighting and get our influential players back," he added. "Having watched the game as objectively as I can, I believe we can have big regrets for having lost it."
Honestly if you go through transcripts of every Chelsea/Arsenal post-match interview since 2004, he pretty much says the same thing every time. This could be Wenger’s definition of insanity.
Chelsea and Carlo Ancelotti on the other hand have the look of sane, cold-blooded killers. They’re now four points clear and seemingly clear of any other major tests until December, when they meet Spurs and Manchester United in back-to-back weekends.
When not in possession of the ball they look compact and solid. On the counter-attack I’ve not seen them look quicker or fitter. Their defending on set pieces is much improved from last season when they seemed vulnerable on every occasion.
All-in-all there is not a weakness in this team and if their competitors can’t keep from dropping points, Carlo Ancelotti and his squad will be out of sight by Boxing Day when coincidentally they meet Arsenal at the Emirates.
Nick Webster is a senior writer for FoxSoccer.com covering the Barclay's Premier League and the English national team.
