Key Incidents:
Goal (Arsenal) (2) - The best start we could have hoped for. An exquisite goal. A long ball was playyed to the head of Thierry, who climbed higher than his marker to nod the ball down to Jose. Jose returned the ball, and Henry set himself up with his right, before unleashing an unstoppable half volley with his left. Truly superb.
Goal (Chelsea) (17) - Suicidal defending. Yet another set play cost us dear, when nobody picked up John Terry, who had a free header which he powered home for just outside the six yard box.
Goal (Arsenal) (29) - Same old Arsenal, taking the piss! The cheek of Thierry deserves some applause. He asked for a quick free kick. This was allowed by Mr. Poll, and Thierry promptly spun a shot to the far corner, beyond the reach of Cech. Totally legal in the eyes of footballing laws, and great awareness to put us 2-1 up at the break.
Goal (Chelsea) (46) - Suicidal defending part 2. Straight from kick off, Ralf stumbled at the back, and gave away a free kick on the left hand side. Fat Frank whipped it in, and two Chelsea players found free headers. First Gallas nodded the ball back across the box, and he found Gudjohnson, who nudged the ball in.
Player Ratings
Manuel Almunia - 6 - Could have organised his box a little better in truth, and was a little suspect for their second goal, but other than that I was quite impressed with him. Swept the area well, and his distribution was excellent. The chant of “Who's the dodgy keeper now?” aimed at Cech said it all.
Ashley Cole - 7 - Strong in the challenge, and stood up to the pace of Duff and Robben. Dealt with them physically as well, and even managed to win a few headers.
Kolo Toure - 7 - Burst forward at every opportunity, and was caught out of position on a few occasions. However, he dealt with the aerial threat posed by the Chelsea attack.
Sol Campbell - 7 - Was strong for us when we needed a big defender. Led the back four, and kept things organised.
Lauren - 6 - Not the best display that I have seen from him all season. Sloppy passing and a poor first touch. The poor first touch gave Chelsea their second eqauliser straight from the restart.
Jose Reyes - 6 - Didn't quite have the performance I was hoping to see from him after his midweek goal. Took on their defence, but never really looked to be too threatening, and was in truth kept fairly quiet. Solid passing in the first half and his work rate were impressive however, as he got through a lot of running.
Mathieu Flamini - 7 - The mouth of the midfield in Patrick's absence. Never stopped barking out the orders, and as in midweek, never stopped moving and was always looking for three ball. Together with Fabregas, he helped run the midfield for the majority of the game.
Cesc Fabregas - 7 - Cut the likes of Lampard and Makelele down to size. Showed no fear, and made the Chelsea midfield look tired, as they were run ragged. Well played to the young lad, who is coping with the large amount of games he is getting far better than I imagined he would.
Robert Pires - 7 - Was I seeing things, or did I actually see Bobby win two (yes that's 2!!) 50/50 tackles in that match? He was great going forward, but for a change he also tracked back and stuck his foot in whenever required. More of that please Sir Pires!!
Thierry Henry - 8 - MOTM. So he doesn't turn up for big games eh? He dispelled that theory straight away, showing no trouble in breezing pass defenders. Scored 2 excellent goals, and really showed commitment in wanting to win the ball back.
Dennis Bergkamp - 7 - Is it me, or does he look fitter by the match? At least, he is not slowing down and winding down for retirement. Got himself about, and made sure we had adequate cover in defence when needed.
Subs:
Gael Clichy - 7 - Provided much needed cover down the left hand side late on. Stopped any chance of a Chelsea break away down that side, and really helped u to see the game out.
Robin Van Persie - 6 - Surely he will start a game soon. He gets himself in the thick of the action, and isn't shy about getting to know the opposition defenders. Would tip him to start at Fulham. As for today, he yet again injected new life to our front line, and came close to claiming all three points.