Jose’s jewels

Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2

This encounter was billed as the match which could blow open the title race, but all it revealed was Chelsea’s increased power over their London rivals.

Goals from Arjen Robben and Joe Cole opened a mammoth gap of 20 points between these two sides, and shatters Arsene Wenger’s hopes of collecting a fourth league winners medal before leaving Highbury.

With a move to the brand new Emirates Stadium awaiting them at the start of next season, Arsenal’s attention must turn to the Champions League if they are to make the move with their heads held high.

Meanwhile, Chelsea have stretched their advantage over second-placed Manchester United to nine points, and the Blues will surely hold on in the second half of the campaign to retain their Premiership crown.

There is no question that Chelsea deserved their latest victory, but two significant moments in the first half proved that any title-winning outfit must have a hint of luck on their side.

Jose Mourinho may not see it that way, but the decision to disallow a Robin van Persie goal on 21 minutes, and the brandishing of a yellow card against Michael Essien rather than a red, were in Chelsea’s favour.

Dutch forward van Persie was unfortunate that his strike past Petr Cech was disallowed, as the assistant referee raised his flag for offside against Thierry Henry.

And Ghanaian international Essien escaped a red card as he caught Lauren in the face with a flailing elbow.

Given those factors, Chelsea could have faced the prospect of playing the final 56 minutes chasing a one goal deficit with just 10 men.

In reality they got away on both fronts, and rubbed salt into Arsenal’s wounds by scoring the opening goal six minutes before half-time, through Dutch winger Robben.

When Cole added the second goal of the match on 73 minutes it was game over, and Arsenal boss Wenger concedes they cannot catch the champions.

“We are too long behind Chelsea now to consider that we will challenge them for the Championship,” he admitted. “We have to want to qualify for the Champions League now and come back. The team is a little bit lacking in experience but developing well. I think this is more the start of an era.

“We have to be in the Champions League next year and need to finish as close as possible to the top team, whether that is Chelsea or somebody else. We have new targets and have to show our strengths.”

His opposite number agrees that the result has pushed Arsenal out of contention to win the league.

“It is more difficult to win at Highbury than at home,” Mourinho explained. “I think it was a very important victory for us. We started the game six points ahead of the team in second place, and finish nine points ahead. Those three points came in a ground where we could have lost, so it’s a bit more than a victory.”

Perhaps even more intriguing than the rivalry between these two famous London clubs, is the competitiveness between the two managers.

At the end of the match Mourinho walked straight down the tunnel without shaking the hand of his opposite number, an action which is far deeper than a sign of forgetfulness.

The pair have been embroiled in a bitter war of words for the past two months, and once again disagreed over one particular incident - Essien’s strike on Lauren.

Arsenal certainly had chances to take something from this game. Thierry Henry hit the post on 20 minutes, and moments later van Persie’s goal was ruled out. In the second period Lauren had a near post shot brilliantly parried away by the impressive frame of Petr Cech.

The Highbury outfit have now gone 270 minutes of league football without finding the net, a statistic which signifies exactly why they are currently the third-placed London side in the league table.

In comparison, Chelsea’s precision in front of goal cannot be questioned Mourinho’s men absorbed a 10-minute period of pressure before Robben’s opener. Drogba quickly released him down the left channel, and Robben raced through before clipping the ball into the net via the far post.

The second goal was equally clinical. Midfielder Cole dispossessed Lauren, cut inside England’s Sol Campbell and struck a low left foot shot into the bottom corner.

The victory sealed Chelsea’s first win at Highbury since the start of the Premiership, and they can now head into Christmas and New Year with increased confidence. For Arsenal, the New Year becomes a time for concentration on the Champions League, and trying to ensure they qualify for next year’s European competition.

Opta Fact: Chelsea have won all 21 away games where they have taken the lead at some stage under Jose Mourinho.

Opta Fact: This is the first time Arsenal have lost three Premiership games in a row since Stewart Houston was manager in March 1995.

ARSENAL: Lehmann, Toure, Senderos, Campbell, Lauren, Ljungberg (Bergkamp 70), Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb (Pires 70), Vvan Persie (Owusu-Abeyie 82), Henry.

CHELSEA: Cech, Paulo Ferreira, Ricardo Carvalho, Terry, Gallas, Essien, Makelele, Lampard, Joe Cole, Drogba (Huth 88), Robben (Geremi 77).

Referee: R Styles (Hampshire).