Arsenal, by contrast, simply do not have the stomach, lacking the composure and appetite to truly compete with the elite. That much was confirmed once and for all here at Stamford Bridge. Yes, very well, there was that decision by the referee, as Andre Marriner suffered the most haunting moment of his professional career, dismissing Kieran Gibbs instead of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. A stickler for the laws of the game could even go as far as to argue that a red card was an error in itself, for the effort by Eden Hazard was going wide and Oxlade-Chamberlain did not therefore deny an obvious goalscoring opportunity. In control: Chelsea forward Andre Schurrle (right) is mobbed by his team-mates after putting his side 2-0 ahead Frustrated figure: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (middle) puts his hand on his head during his sides 6-0 defeat to Chelsea Big mistake: Referee Andre Marriner incorrectly shows Arsenals Kieran Gibbs a red card Arsenal vs top four this season RESULTS Arsenal 2-0 Liverpool Manchester City 6-3 ArsenalArsenal 0-0 ChelseaLiverpool 5-1 ArsenalChelsea 6-0 Arsenal TABLE 1. Chelsea P5 W4 D1 L0 Pts 13 2. Manchester City P4 W2 D0 L2 Pts 6 3. Arsenal P5 W1 D1 L3 Pts 4 4. Liverpool P4 W1 D0 L3 Pts 3 But such excuses are rendered irrelevant by an Arsenal performance so patently void of spirit, determination and quality. All the candles on Arsène Wengers 1000 games birthday cake cannot produce enough smoke to obscure the reality: that Arsenal are too fragile, too weak in mind for these decisive football matches. The mitigation of a refereeing nightmare is a false alibi for a team who had surrendered this football match and, in all probability, their challenge on the Premier League title, within just seven minutes. Even Wenger, so often the seeker the injustice in his post-match reflections, could not muster the will to complain. Not this time. This defeat is my fault, I take full responsibility for it, Wenger lamented, in an unfamiliar mea culpa, before describing this landmark occasion as one of the worst days [in my career]. Dejected: Arsenal players (from left to right) Mikel Arteta, Laurent Koscielny and Wojciech Szczesny react after conceding a fourth goal Top of the pile: Jose Mourinho gestures as he watches his side dismantle Arsenal at Stamford Bridge Main man: Chelsea goalscorer Oscar (right) is congratulated by Cesar Azpilicueta after finding the back of the net More... Chelsea 6-0 Arsenal: Gunners hit for SIX by rampant Blues on Wengers 1,000th game as Gibbs is mistakenly sent off after Oxlade-Chamberlains handball on the line Wengers humiliation: It was supposed to all hail Arsene in his 1,000th match but in the end there was only one stat that matter Howler! Gibbs mistakenly sent off after Oxlade-Chamberlain handball on the line... as blunder ref Marriner says sorry Wenger takes full responsibility for embarrassing 6-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge Once more, Arsenal suffered a collective loss of nerve on the grand occasion, just as they did at Manchester City and Liverpool, decomposing before the disbelieving eyes of the 41,000 plus spectators in the stadium. On Wengers landmark day, the Chelsea supporters serendaded the Arsenal manager: Arsène Wenger, we want you to stay. Of course they do, for rarely over these last nine years of drought have Arsenal appeared as far away from champions-in-waiting as they do now. For much of this game, it felt an illusion that this Arsenal side had been looking down from the top echelons of the Premier League for so long this season. They may only be seven points behind Chelsea with a game in hand but nobody present here would believe Arsenal capable of reversing that deficit. If only the Arsenal players had the spirit of their unblinkingly loyal followers, whose support never wavered in the Shed End. We love you, Arsenal, we do, they continued to chant, in a show of defiance before the crowing Chelsea fans. The rank and file, starved of success for so long, deserve so much better. Just as the case was at the Etihad Stadium and Anfield, the feeling was that Arsenal were spared an ordeal altogether more harrowing. Chelsea could easily have reached double figures, with only the smart work of Wojciech Szczesny averting greater humiliation. Wengers team have now conceded seventeen goals in three matches at the Etihad Stadium, Anfield and Stamford Bridge this season. The figures are scarcely comprehensible and yet they could be worse. For the record, Arsenal have conceded seventeen games in all their other 27 Premier League matches combined. Strangely, Chelsea were not particularly magnificent here. They started powerfully, with all the purpose and aggression that their opponents were lacking, but this was not a performance of pyrotechnics from Mourinhos team, merely one of ruthless efficiency. Ten amazing minutes, Mourinho smiled, We came to kill and in ten minutes, we destroyed. After that? Easy. For all the embarrassing comfort of this victory, Chelsea did flicker with genius at times. Eden Hazard and Schurrle were relentless on the wings, the Belgian tormenting his victims with his dancing feet and the German with that devastating turn of pace. Nemanja Matic and David Luiz were too strong in the middle, their sheer strength and energy crushing the artists in the Arsenal midfield. In truth, though, Chelsea did not have to be at their very best, waved through time after time by an accommodating Arsenal midfield. The opening seventeen minutes were ones of self-destruction, each of the opening three goals arriving after the midfield carelessly ceded possession. Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tomas Rosicky and Santi Cazorla were all culpable, exposing their defence to Chelseas menace on the counter-attack. The first and second goals were mirror images in their construction, a loose pass capitalised upon by the speed of Schurrle and Hazard, who drove at the bewildered Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker, who must barely have been able to comprehend what was taking place in front of them. From there on, it was damaged limitation and bizarrely, 6-0 represented a kinder outcome than the more brutal humiliation that Arsenals shambolic opening to this game truly merited. But the ultimate punishment comes in an all-too-familiar feeling for the Arsenal supporters: the uncomfortable truth that their team will be passive observers, rather than courageous participants, as this Premier League season ebbs towards its gripping climax. Chelsea Malawi
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 19:09:27 +0000
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