Chelsea FC the Belle of the Ball?

Is Chelsea the most attractive side in the Premiership right now?

While this title has usually been reserved for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side, one cannot help but wonder whether there's a new belle of the ball after Chelsea, under Luiz Scolari, have blown away their opponents this season with a dazzling brand of Joga Bonito.

Roman Abramovich has spent more than $945 million in pursuit of beautiful football and it seems that in Big Phil the Russian oligarch has found the leprechaun to lead him towards the end of the rainbow.

Saturday's 5-0 win over Roy Keane's Sunderland saw intricate passing, flowing movement, flashes of skill on the ball, and a general dedication to scoring long after the game had been won. This made for a very entertaining display.

A year ago Jose Mourinho, the most successful manager in Chelsea's history, was given the sack. The reasons given were a rocky relationship with Roman Abramovich which stemmed partly from Mourinho's pragmatic and "boring" approach to the game.

Mourinho's successor Avram Grant similarly failed to execute Abramovich's vision of beautiful football and soon found himself unemployed as well.

Luiz Scolari was brought in over the summer to add a little Brazilian flair to a Chelsea squad that seemed to be lacking flair of any nationality. Scolari quickly signalled his intentions with the $12 million signing of Deco from Barcelona.

The Portuguese play-maker has played the Justin Timberlake role for the Blues, this season bringing sexy back in a way that Ruud Gullit himself would tip his hat to.

Perhaps the biggest changes Scolari has implemented are a shorter passing game and a dedication to attacking football that has brought out the best in players like Lampard, Anelka, and Malouda.

Lampard is currently topping the Actim Index rating system and earning every cent of his new $236,295 weekly contract while Malouda is menacing Premiership right backs with the pace and skill that saw him named 2006/2007 French Player of the Year.

Nicolas Anelka, meanwhile, is shaking off his journeyman tag and is putting in quality performances for Chelsea, including a hat-trick against Sunderland last Saturday.

Chelsea are looking to displace Arsenal as the most attractive team in the Premiership and judging by Saturday's results, Chelsea have already done so.

Arsene Wenger's side slumped to a 2-1 defeat at newcomers Stoke City while struggling to find a rhythm in stark contrast to Chelsea's stunning victory at Sunderland.

It may be too early to tell, but if early season results are anything to go by, Chelsea may have taken Arsenal's "best in show" blue ribbon and are now the new belle of the ball.