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It was a night at the Emirates that Arsenal fans will forever remember as the moment they saw their boys become men. Win-less in their last eleven games against perennial title rivals Chelsea and Manchester United, and written off in sections of the English press as perpetual bridesmaids, Arsenal produced a sumptuous performance against an under performing Chelsea side to come away 3-1 victors. Goals from Alex Song, Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott in a nine minute spell on either side of half time converted the Gunners' superiority into a result, and even though Chelsea got one back shortly after through Branislav Ivanovic, Arsenal were good value for their win.·

Arsenal came into this vital top of the table clash desperate to reignite their title challenge after having faired poorly against Manchester United in their previous outing. Arsene Wenger restored Lukasz Fabianski in goal, while opting to give Robin van Persie, Theo Walcott and Johan Djourou rare starts in what was undoubtedly their biggest game of the season. Marouane Chamakh, Andrei Arshavin and Sebastien Squilliaci were all available on the bench. Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshire and Alex Song made up the young midfield triumvirate given the job of keeping Chelsea's superstars in check.

Chelsea had all their big guns back as they looked to end their horror run, which has seen them collect just 1 win from their last 7 games. That exceptionally poor recent record has cost them top spot in the League, and they came into this game a spot behind Arsenal in 4th. Former Arsenal striker Nicolas Anelka was the only big name player missing from the Chelsea team sheet as Salomon Kalou started on the right side of a front three which included Didier Drogba and Florent Malouda. The two week unscheduled snow influenced break meant that Frank Lampard was once again fit to start and he took his place alongside John Obi Mikel and Michael Essien in the Chelsea midfield. Paulo Ferreira kept his place at right back, with Jose Bosingwa an option on an otherwise very light weight Chelsea bench.

The first half lived up to its billing as Arsenal imposed themselves early on in the contest, both in terms of their pace and movement and the physicality required to compete with Chelsea. The away side looked to play largely on the counter attack, as they struggled to get on the ball as the considerably sharper Arsenal midfield worked hard to break up play. Johan Djourou, easily the biggest defender in Arsenal's squad was given the job of marking Drogba, and did well to cut out long balls into the tall Ivorian, who had scored 13 times in his last 13 games against the Gunners.

Both teams had decent sighters on goal in the first 10 minutes as Robin van Persie failed to latch on to an inviting long ball, while Drogba fired wide after having broken forward. Theo Walcott had a slow start as Ashley Cole marked him well in the early exchanges, but grew in confidence as the half progressed. His pace and work rate on the right flank was also handy in keeping the Malouda - Cole axis quiet. Samir Nasri too impressed on the left, but saw too little of the ball as Chelsea did a good job of pressing Fabregas whenever the Spanish playmaker was in possession.

Walcott's first touch and decision making were suspect, as was Van Persie's finishing when the Gunners threatened early on. Nasri came central to get on the ball more, and had two solid efforts on goal - the first a thunderous free kick that Petr Cech just about hung on to, and the second a delightful chip over the keeper which Cech did brilliantly to tip around for a corner.

Arsenal finally got the goal their play so richly deserved, with the young Arsenal midfield trio crowding into the Chelsea box, and their sharp interplay of passes creating an opportunity for Alex Song, which the Cameroonian smashed home with his left foot. In fairness, Arsenal should have got a penalty in that play, with Ferreira tripping Fabregas in the pass that led to the goal, but the Gunners' fans were delighted to have the ball in the back of the net any which way.

Arsenal went into the break a goal to the good, and Carlo Ancelotti responded by bringing on summer signing Ramires for Mikel at half-time.

The second half started at a frightening pace, with three goals coming in the first 11 minutes. Arsenal started from where they had left off at the end of the previous period, with the midfield working exceptionally hard to close down space. Robin van Persie, playing with his back to goal was surrounded by three men, and the ball ricocheted off Essien into the path of Walcott, who despite being through on goal, squared the ball unselfishly to Fabregas, who tapped into an open net.

Arsenal suddenly found themselves in dream land as they went up 3-0 as Fabregas returned the favour to Walcott just two minutes later and the England international slotted brilliantly past Cech into the far corner. The Gunners, however, switched off immediately after the goal and gave away a series of cheap fouls. One such indiscretion saw Drogba deliver a sweet free-kick from the left, right onto the head of Ivanovic, who brought Chelsea back into the contest with the simplest of finishes.

The game really opened up after the fourth goal as Chelsea went all out in search of a second, while Arsenal found plenty of gaps in the pitch to run into. Nasri had a great chance to kill-off the game for the Gunners as he got onto an Arsenal fast break, but Cech's big left hand denied the Frenchman from point blank range.

Drogba and Lampard had a couple of decent chances by their standards, but the Ivorian fired high from a free-kick, while the England international scuffed his shot after the ball had rather fortuitously made its way through to him. Arsenal too had chances to score a fourth themselves, but a mixture of last ditch defending, offside flags and the woodwork denied the Gunners, while their anxious fans waited with bated breath for the final whistle.

Arsenal hung on rather comfortably in the end for the win and moved back ahead of Manchester City into second place in the League Table (on goal difference). They are now two points behind Manchester United, who also have a game in hand, which should get wiped off tomorrow when they visit Birmingham City (read preview). While the three Arsenal goal scorers will undoubtedly grab the headlines, our star performer of the game was Swiss center-back Johan Djourou, who played the game of his life to keep Didier Drogba quiet. Wenger's decision to pick him and Van Persie for this massive encounter proved to be a gamble that well and truly paid off.

Chelsea meanwhile are in free fall, having not won a game in the Premier League since the sacking of Assistant Manager Ray Wilkins. A look at the match stats indicates that though they had 12 shots on goal, only 1 was on target, from which they scored. They failed to test nervy Polish shot stopper Lukasz Fabianski, and will be undoubtedly disappointed. Their midfield looked slow and lacked ideas when in possession, and the absence of any quality on the bench hurt them severely. While Ancelotti's job at Chelsea remains under threat, their worries are much more intrinsic, and cash will need to be spent in the winter if the West Londoners are going to compete in the League this season.

Teams:

Arsenal: Fabianski, Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy, Song, Fabregas (Rosicky), Wilshere, Walcott (Diaby), Van Persie (Chamakh), Nasri. Unused Subs: Szczesny, Squillaci, Arshavin, Bendtner.

Chelsea: Cech, Ferreira (Bosingwa 61'), Ivanovic, Terry, Cole, Essien, Mikel (Ramires 45'), Lampard, Kalou, Drogba, Malouda (Kakuta 56'). Subs: Turnbull, Van Aanholt, Bruma, McEachran.

Final Scoreline: Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea

Arsenal Scorers: Song 44', Fabregas 51', Walcott 53'
Chelsea Scorer: Ivanovic 56'

File Photograph Copyright: Wonker

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