TERRACE TALK: Chelsea - Joy overflows as Eden Hazard has Arsenal in a sorry spin

A real feelgood factor reverberates around Stamford Bridge at the moment. A clearly delighted owner (who is STILL not bored — sorry!) is entertaining Chelsea alumni and American movie stars in his box, the current Chelsea team are playing with smiles on their faces and a swagger that only top spot and an average of two and a half points a game can give you and a manager is flinging himself with unbridled joyous abandon into the welcoming arms of the adoring SW6 faithful.

After Alonso’s goal settled the nerves, the Chelsea fans serenaded Arsene Wenger who sat stoically in the East Middle — he was probably wishing his own fans were as keen as we were on his continued tenure at Arsenal. Meanwhile, the various anti/pro Wenger factions traded blows in the away end: this is a club in disarray and potentially on the brink of a full-on civil war.

As an outsider looking in, I find it bewildering that not only is Wenger still in a job but has actually been offered yet another extension. I understand that given what he has achieved with the club he wants to leave on his own terms and ideally on a high, but he has had ample opportunity to do that and has stubbornly refused. Those in charge must realise that Wenger is no longer the man to move the club forward — no longer captain of the ship — he is now the helmsman steering the ship towards the iceberg. It almost makes you feel sorry for the Arsenal fans.