Quickfire Gunners’ warning shot

MAYBE it was the end of an era in west London, maybe it was the start of a new one in north London; but make no mistake Arsenal’s inspirational and convincing victory over Chelsea will have consequences way beyond this morning’s Premier League table.

For Arsenal there is real elation that a miserable run of 10 defeats and one draw in their last 11 matches against title rivals Chelsea and Manchester United — a run that led captain Cesc Fabregas to suggest his team were scared to play in the big games — was ended in such emphatic fashion with goals from Alex Song, Fabregas and Theo Walcott.

After all, it’s a result that takes Arsene Wenger’s side to second in the table, only two points behind leaders United, and puts them firmly back in a title race that seemed to be slipping away when they put up such a poor fight during a recent defeat at Old Trafford.

Last night Fabregas claimed belief was the key reason Arsenal’s victory.

“Belief was the difference,” Fabregas said. “The difference between a good team and a great team is very little. We did what a great team does. We were fantastic.’’

But for all the positive feelings in the Emirates dressing room — and this result certainly does put them back in contention and provide a huge psychological boost at a crucial point in the season — many of the headlines will concentrate on Chelsea’s dismal demise.

This result leaves Chelsea without a win in six games in all competitions, only one victory in eight Premier League matches and, even more worryingly, only one point ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham in the league table with the unthinkable prospect of not only missing out on the title but failing to qualify for the Champions League as well.

That may sound fanciful but it happened to Liverpool last year and in fact Chelsea are only two points clear of sixth-placed Bolton Wanderers who they face at Stamford Bridge on tomorrow in a match that is now so crucial it could make or break not just their season but manager Carlo Ancelotti’s future too.

Ancelotti has a strong relationship with owner Roman Abramovich, who courted him for three years, and also has the leverage of a Double victory last season in what was Chelsea’s most successful ever campaign; but no manager has survived in the Abramovich era with such a miserable run of form and patience doesn’t feature in the Russian billionaire’s vocabulary. Ancelotti knew this was a game neither team could afford to lose; and Chelsea lost it in embarrassing style and in a manner that suggests the problems at Stamford Bridge are deep-set and serous.

The difference was the quality,” Ancelotti said. “Arsenal put more quality on the pitch than us. We have to wake up. Now we are sleeping.”

For Arsenal, in comparison, the result is a massive fillip because after three home league defeats already this season any hope of a title challenge would surely have faded into oblivion with a fourth.

With that in mind it was a surprise to see Wenger opt for such an attacking line-up, bringing in Theo Walcott and Robin van Persie to join Samir Nasri in a front three and pairing Jack Wilshere and Cesc Fabregas in midfield. But he was certainly rewarded for his ambition with Walcott in particular outstanding.

Chelsea, with Frank Lampard making his first start since August after finally recovering from hernia surgery, remained cautious and strangely quiet, and that was all the encouragement Wenger’s side needed.

Carlo Ancelotti had revved up the atmosphere ahead of this London derby by suggesting Arsenal were afraid of striker Didier Drogba after he scored twice in last year’s 3-0 victory here and 10 times in 14 matches between the two sides. But not even Drogba can do it all on his own and he had to spend as much time defending as attacking.

The fact that Arsenal had not defeated Chelsea since November 2008, losing the last five encounters, added to the sensation that this was a pivotal game in the season and when the opening goal came after 44 minutes it was richly deserved.

Drogba had sent one early chance narrowly wide but Arsenal had by that staged dominated possession, with a 20-minute spell eventually rewarded when Alex Song played a one-two with Jack Wilshere and spun to fire home an excellent low, left-foot effort.

You would have expected Chelsea to respond in the second half but with only a collection of reserves and kids on the bench they had little available in their armoury to change the game.

The arrival of substitutes Gael Kakuta, Ramires and Jose Bosingwa hardly had Arsenal shaking in their boots and in fact Wenger’s men roared into a three-goal lead with a dramatic and inspirational period of attacking football at the start of the second period.

The first was gifted to them when Essien’s attempted tackle saw the ball run straight into the path of the inspired Walcott, who shuffled it to the left for captain Cesc Fabregas to side-foot home in the 51st minute; and within 90 seconds it was 3-0, this time the woefully out-of-form Malouda dithering as Walcott stole the ball off him, played a one-two with Fabregas and finished expertly across Petr Cech.

Chelsea did manage a response, Arsenal showing typical lack of concentration from a Drogba free-kick as Koscielny allowed Branislav Ivanovic a free-header from close range; but to suggest that lapse put any real downer on an outstanding result for Wenger’s side would be unfair to say the least.

In a season in which none of the top four have grabbed the title race by the scruff of the neck this could prove a psychologically crucial victory for Arsenal — but an even more serious defeat for Ancelotti.

ARSENAL: Fabianski 6, Sagna 7, Koscielny 6, Djourou 7, Clichy 7, Song 7, Fabregas 7 (Rosciky 88), Wilshere 7, Walcott 8 (Diaby 73; 6), van Persie 7 (Chamakh 76), Nasri 7.

Subs not used: Szczesny, Diaby, Squillaci, Arshavin, Bendtner.

CHELSEA: Cech 6, Ferreira 6 (Bosingwa 61; 5), Ivanovic 6, Terry 6, Cole 6, Essien 6, Mikel 5 (Ramires 46; 5), Lampard 5, Kalou 5, Drogba 6, Malouda 5 (Kakuta 56; 5).

Subs not used: Turnbull, Van Aanholt, Bruma, McEachran.

Referee: Mark Clattenburg.