Boring, Boring Chelsea Criticism Off Point as Blues Draw with Arsenal

There's something exciting about trophy parades.

People lining the streets, players on open-top buses saluting the thousands of fans who have turned out to worship them, the feeling of seeing silverware in person.

When 2014/15 reaches it's climax on May 24 and the rest of the Premier League clubs are instantly counting down the days to the new season, Chelsea fans will be busy researching the best vantage point along the King's Road for when their 2015 trophy haul is paraded.

Their season will be extended by an extra few days, the thrill of a year's emotional investment lasting that bit longer.

None of them will be bored. Why would they be? Chelsea will be champions.

Call them boring as it's the only way to get at this Chelsea team. So few opponents can beat them—Chelsea have lost just three times in all competitions this season—that it has to become a popularity contest.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

When it comes down to ability, Chelsea win more often than not, so let's roll out the playground tactics.

"Our football is prettier than yours." "Boring, boring Chelsea."

That was the tone at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday after a goalless draw with Arsenal saw Chelsea edge ever closer to their first league title in five seasons.

Jose Mourinho's response was a simple one.

"I think 10 years without the title, that's boring," the Chelsea boss responded to the gathered media, when asked about the chants being leveled at his team.

And he's right.

Chelsea's duty isn't to the greater good of football, it's to the supporters who turn up to Stamford Bridge every week. They want to see success; they want to see their team winning.

There's no better team in the division at doing that than Chelsea, as the Premier League table shows.

This team wins trophies by any which way possible. Whereas some managers, such as Arsene Wenger, will play true to their footballing philosophy, Chelsea's only belief is to lift silverware.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

They don't care how they do it, they just want to win.

At the start of the season, with a striker fully fit and in form, they played to Diego Costa's strengths and blew teams away.

Arsenal were among them, succumbing 2-0 to a dominant Chelsea team at Stamford Bridge in October.

In April, things are different. Costa and Loic Remy weren't fit enough to even make the bench at the Emirates, while Didier Drogba could only manage 45 minutes as a second-half substitute.

What did anyone expect?

That said, without a recognised striker, it was still Chelsea who offered the biggest threat in attack. Had it not been for a lack of composure from Ramires, we would have been talking about another Chelsea victory here.

Instead, the Brazilian's tame effort when one-on-one with David Ospina was easily collected by the goalkeeper.

That was the best moment of the game, and Chelsea had others, too, including Oscar's goal-bound shot being cleared off the line by a desperate Hector Bellerin.

As the game was dissected in the Sky Sports studio after, the presenter asked Jamie Carragher about his view on Arsenal's opportunities.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

"Remind me," joked the ex-Liverpool man. It was the only response he could muster, such were the moments when Arsenal carved Chelsea open.

But that's where entertaining football will get you.

Chelsea did what they had to, which was to stop Arsenal playing. In the process they should have come away winners themselves.

They very nearly did a number on Arsenal in the same way they did Liverpool this time last season.

It was almost a year to the day when Mourinho's men traveled to Anfield and defeated the Reds 2-0, significantly denting their title hopes.

Mourinho commented at the time that Chelsea had been set up as the clowns to be defeated as Liverpool marched to the title.

It was quite the reverse, and Brendan Rodgers was shown to be naive in thinking his team could play their way to glory.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

What Liverpool should have done is exactly what we've seen from Chelsea. This title race has been shut down because Chelsea wanted it that way.

There was no way Mourinho would be repeating those mistakes this season—and Chelsea haven't.

Chelsea will win the Premier League having shown many different faces. They've wowed us, thrilled us, and to the annoyance of Arsenal on Sunday, they've frustrated us by sucking the life out of games.

The title will be won by playing championship-winning football. When it comes to the debate about which style is best, surely that ends the argument.

When we think of boredom, it's repetition that comes to mind. It's hearing the same statistics being rolled out: Wenger has never beaten Mourinho, that's 13 games now; Arsenal haven't scored past Chelsea in the last five meetings; the Gunners last won the title in 2004.

It goes on, yet all the while Chelsea win trophies and set the tone in English football. Yawn.

If success was about popularity, Chelsea would lose every time. It's not, so while their rivals are worrying about how well-loved they are, Chelsea's biggest dilemma is when to order a bigger trophy cabinet.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes