Sunday afternoon was a very good point to be a Chelsea fan. The Blues moved 8 points clear at the top of the Premier League after hammering Arsenal 3-0 on their own patch. It was a performance that showed why Chelsea’s Premier League title odds are at the level they are and why Chelsea are the team to beat this season.
Arsenal played their usual pretty football and came out fighting at the start of each half with pace and purpose. The reality though, is that Chelsea were far too strong for them in so many ways. Carlo Ancelotti’s team are physically stronger, mentally stronger and have more big-game players.
One of these being the incredible Didier Drogba. I am starting to run out of superlatives for the man this season. He is, quite simply, on a different planet. He has a history of terrorising Arsenal and Sunday was no different. The Ivory Coast striker got on the end of an Ashley Cole cross to put Chelsea ahead and then secured the win with an exquisite free-kick to seal the victory in the last ten minutes. The Arsenal defence didn’t know how to handle him in his current form and he got his rewards.
In the aftermath of the game, there has been much praise for Drogba. Not least from Alan Hansen. The Match of the Day pundit has said that the player’s performance Sunday showed by he is the best striker in the Premier League. Wayne Rooney and Fernando Torres are other candidates for this accolade, but Hansen is of the opinion that Drogba’s strength, goals and ability to lead the line make him the best striker in England. I would go a step further than that though and say that he is probably the best striker in the world at the moment. The influence he has on Chelsea is phenomenal and I don’t think there is anyone else out there like him. He strikes fear into opposition defences constantly and most importantly, he ALWAYS turns it on in the big games.
Just think, under Luiz Felipe Scolari last season, Drogba looked unhappy and as though his Chelsea career was coming to an end. Now though, he is arguably performing better than ever before. I guess Chelsea fans can thank Ancelotti for that. The Italian has clearly been good for Drogba.
The most worrying thing about all of this is that Chelsea lose the 31-year-old to the African Cup of Nations next month. I’m sure Drogba won’t take it personally if Chelsea fans hope they don’t make it too far in the competition….
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