Chelsea get what they came for

ARSENAL 0 CHELSEA 0: John Terry’s animated celebrations at the final whistle, set against a backdrop of chants of ‘boring, boring Chelsea’ from the home supporters encapsulated this game. 

Chelsea had got exactly what they had come for and while their display rarely inspired, they demonstrated why they will be champions.

Even if Arsenal had managed to find a way to break down a defence marshalled superbly by Terry, they would only have had the slimmest of chances of closing the gap on Jose Mourinho’s side during the last five games of the season.

As it was, Arsene Wenger’s side fell short and now lie 10 points adrift of the league leaders. Mourinho’s side need just five points to confirm the title with Wednesday’s trip to Leicester City likely to nudge them closer, presenting them with the chance to turn Crystal Palace’s visit to Stamford Bridge into a celebration that has been a long time coming.

Mourinho maintained his stance of refusing to declare his side champions elect, but he was unable to disguise his satisfaction at once again nullifying one of Wenger’s sides. His declaration that Terry’s display was the defender’s best ever under the Portuguese highlighted the strengths of his side’s performance while his refusal to dwell on his side’s three unsuccessful first-half penalty appeals confirmed Mourinho is a manager who knows success is heading his way.

“It’s one point. It leaves five. If we’d won today we’d need three. So this result is almost like three points,” he said. “A positive result. I think a fair result if you forget the penalties. A fair result. And I want to forget the penalties because I think the referee had a very good performance, and the assistant referees were very solid. So I’m happy. I’m happy with the referees.”

The most contentious of Chelsea’s appeals came in the 16th minute when Oscar, employed as the main striker with Didier Drogba held on the bench, ran onto Cesc Fabregas’s chipped through-ball and lifted the ball over David Ospina before being flattened by the onrushing Arsenal keeper.

Hector Bellerin raced back to clear off the line but Oscar was left poleaxed while referee Michael Oliver inexplicably awarded a corner. The Brazilian played on until half-time when he was withdrawn and taken to hospital with suspected concussion, adding to Chelsea’s frustration.

Wenger admitted his side had been fortunate to escape that incident while pointing out Arsenal’s own strong claims for a first-half penalty when Gary Cahill blocked Santi Cazorla’s shot with his arm.

Had the referee seen either of those incidents differently, the game might have taken a different tack. As it was, the longer the match wore on, the more Chelsea were content to sit back and provide a blanket of protection in front of Thibaut Courtois’s goal.

It was the kind of performance that has taken them to success in the Champions League in the past and Terry was at the heart of it. “I told John Terry in the dressing room that he made fantastic performances with me but this was his best,” said Mourinho. “It was the best JT has ever played. It was absolutely amazing.

“I think today everything he did was clean: Reading the game, giving cover, the defensive line, interceptions, reading the game so well, with the pass. The team was phenomenal, but John was one step ahead of every other player.”

It was a frustrating way for Arsenal’s challenge to end with Wenger’s side reduced to throwing the equivalent of air shots while being held at arm’s length. It didn’t help the home mood that Cesc Fabregas was wearing blue. The former Gunners captain was booed initially, jeered when he was booked for a first-half dive, and then met with a combination of jeers and applause when he left the field. That, however, was a sideshow to the real issue which was Arsenal’s failure once again to overcome Chelsea.

“I think we have closed the gap since the start of the season, but what happened is that they had the experience at the back, could close the game down,” said Wenger. “We lacked a bit, maybe, freedom of mind today. Maybe we were too conscious of their counter-attacking and didn’t play enough freedom in the final third, and didn’t make the right decisions.”

Terry and the Chelsea rearguard made exactly the right decisions. It may not have always been pretty but it was effective and Mourinho believes his side deserve more credit when they are eventually crowned champions.

“If we do that, and I think we are going to do that, we will be champions being top of the league since day one,” said the Chelsea manager. “Being top of the league since day one, only top teams can do that.”

ARSENAL (4-2-3-1):

Ospina 4; Bellerin 6, Mertesacker 6, Koscielny 7, Monreal 7; Cazorla 6, Coquelin 6 (Welbeck 75,6); Ramsey 5, Ozil 7, Sanchez 7; Giroud 6 (Walcott 84,6).

CHELSEA (4-2-3-1):

Courtois 6; Ivanovic 6, Cahill 8, Terry 9, Azpilicueta 8; Fabregas 6 (Zouma 90,6), Matic 7; Ramires 6, Willian 6 (Cuadrado 90, 6), Hazard 6; Oscar 6 (Drogba 46,6).

Referee:

Michael Oliver 5.