Chelsea 1-2 Arsenal: Has Anything Changed?

In what has been a topsy-turvy season for Arsenal and their fans, a new twist in the tale emerged last night. An absorbing encounter against London rivals Chelsea saw the Gunners snatch what looked to be an impossible victory to take the team within seven points of their opponents.

One thing is for sure, when Arsenal are playing these days, the form book goes out the window. Consecutive losses to Aston Villa at home and Manchester City away, coupled with off the field problems made it look like there would be only one winner before last night's game. Arsenal though, bucked the trend yet again.

The most astonishing aspect of the victory was how steady the defense looked, barring the first 15-20 minutes. Johann Djourou was particularly impressive, and was incredibly unfortunate to score the own goal which gave the Blues a well deserved lead.

That Arsenal scored all three goals in the game was an indicator of how much of a threat Chelsea were going forward for the 90 minutes.

The Arsenal performance in the first half was mediocre at best. The team looked like a bunch of also-rans, with Denilson being hustled off the ball far too easily and Alex Song looking like he was chasing shadows.

Manuel Almunia showed that he has the odd mistake in him too, when he rashly threw the ball from a corner out to Jose Bosingwa, who played the ball into what experts call "POMO," or Position of Maximum Opportunity. This caused havoc in the Arsenal defense, and Djourou turned the ball into the back of the net.

The second half began in the same fashion. Chelsea seemed to be in cruise control, and Frank Lampard blasted a shot wide after it looked as if he was clean through on goal. It looked as though it was going to be a long 30 minutes for Arsenal.

All that changed in a matter of seconds. In an uncharacteristic move, Arsenal used a long ball forward to Adebayor which led to a considerable amount of head tennis. What ensued was quite hilarious if you were an Arsenal fan, and a moment of sheer madness if you were on Chelsea's side.

Denilson played a through ball to Robin van Persie, who was yards offside, and the Dutchman finished quite superbly on his weaker foot to draw Arsenal level against the run of play.

Chelsea looked shell shocked, and so did most of Stamford Bridge. Arsenal took full advantage of Chelsea's poor defending minutes later when Adebayor won the first ball again from Cesc Fabregas' freekick and van Persie steered the ball past Cech to give Arsenal a 2-1 lead.

This, to many Gooners, would've seemed like deja vu. Didier Drogba, in the build up to Chelsea's first goal in the corresponding fixture last season, was clearly offside along with Nicolas Anelka when Chelsea were trailing to Arsenal. He ended up scoring the winner as well in a game which effectively ended Arsenal's Premier League hopes.

Here is the video of the highlights of that game, clearly showing Drogba and Anelka in an offside position—just in case Chelsea fans are in denial mode.

Soccer Videos from www.goaljunky.com

This game certainly doesn't end the title challenge of Chelsea, who still remain top of the table. But one cannot help but think why they couldn't up the ante after Arsenal scored.

Many criticise Arsene Wenger's tactical acumen. Last night, though, he was on top of things.

Arsenal pegged Bosingwa and Ashley Cole back in the second half, with the midfield pressing much higher up the pitch. This made the pitch a lot narrower, causing Chelsea to hoof long balls up towards the strikers. That might have worked had Drogba been there, but Nicolas Anelka and Saloman Kalou didn't seem to enjoy that kind of service.

What is very difficult to predict is which Arsenal team will turn up against Wigan next weekend. If they have the same old pedestrian approach, no Premier League team will let them settle into the game. If the team shows some sort of urgency, then things will naturally happen for them.

Watching games like this will make Arsenal fans scratch their heads—how can a team that can beat Chelsea and Manchester United, lose to the likes of Hull City and Stoke City?

It's all about attitude.

If Arsenal's attitude, under Cesc Fabregas' captaincy improves, so will their form. The team has to have the same respect for opponents throughout the Premier League.

This victory will only mean something if Arsenal can string together some decent results in the next five to ten games.

For the moment though, it's time for the Arsenal fans to enjoy a memorable victory over their London rivals.