Arsenal vs Chelsea: The One That Was Chelsea's Second Win in a Month

Say my name, say my name ...

The first 5 month’s of Chelsea’s title defence can pretty much be summed up like this:

• August - 1 win
• September - 1 win
• October - 1 win
• November - 1 win
• December - 1 win

Looking ahead to January’s games - with Palace, West Brom, Everton and Arsenal all on the horizon, I would have put good money on January’s solitary win to come at The Emirates. But Palace tossed a spanner in the works to kick off the new year and only went and lost in spectacular fashion to Chelsea. They had a number of injuries and not a striker in sight, but it was a resounding loss to Chelsea nonetheless. So what of the Arsenal match? Could Chelsea manage two actual wins in a single month? Based on the 22 matches that preceded Sunday’s late fixture - it seemed like a big ask.

Stoke vs Chelsea: The One Without The Special One

No good ever comes of listening to Rio

At least all the speculation about what would happen to Chelsea if Jose Mourinho weren’t stalking around in the technical area can end now, right? Another game - another loss. Which, let’s be honest, has really put Chelsea in a bit of a pickle. And by pickle I mean they have fewer points than 2 of the 3 promoted teams and have a worse defensive record than Newcastle. Newcastle!

And all this just as Chelsea enter the dreaded month of November where a point is rarely gained. Try and not tempt fate by waxing lyrical about how it could possibly get worse. There is always a way - Chelsea would definitely find a way. Keep in mind that not only is Being Brendan Rodgers sniffing around for work, but David Moyes has been let go from his position at Real Sociedad for his failed attempts at saying his players names. No one wants Cesar Azpilicueta to go through that.

Arsenal v Chelsea: The One With No Handshake (at Wembley)

Every good thing must come to an end - as does any significant run in football. Jose Mourinho boasted an infamous record against best mate Arsene Wenger, but it couldn’t go on forever. Of course the proverbial monkey was lifted off of Wenger’s back in arguably the most Arsenal way ever - in a pre-season match that counts for little more than a few days of bragging rights. It only took 14 tries, so well done and all that.

Chelsea are good at many things. The Charity Community Shield is not one of them. Including Sunday’s trip to Wembley, Chelsea have lost in 5 of their last 6 attempts at starting the season with a glorified plate. David Moyes won it for United, and we all know how well that turned out. The match and result mattered far more to the Arsenal fans who turned up in their best Benzema shirts and Petr Cech helmets to mark the occasion. No really.

Chelsea vs Maribor: The one where Drogba scored a CL penalty (again)

Before all those goals - the view from the press box

With no sign of Diego Costa or his hamstring anywhere near the pitch last night, Loïc Remy got the call to start up front. However, within minutes of the game kicking off it was evident that Costa was not the only one carrying an injury. Remy’s understudy on the night, Didier Drogba, began warming up after just 10 minutes. Nevertheless the Frenchman wasn’t going to let any underlying pain stop him from finding the back of the net. Remy scored from a through ball from John Terry that would have made Cesc Fàbregas proud. But that would be Remy’s sole contribution on the night as he winced his way down the tunnel.

As Chelsea continued with a wave of attacks upon the Slovenian champions, Ales Mertelj thought he should just scoop the ball out of his own 18 yard box and in doing so gave the home side a penalty. Although Eden Hazard has an outstanding record from the spot, Drogba stepped up to take this one, scoring 886 days after his last goal for Chelsea.