Back On Top of the Heap, Part Deux

After a short spell, measured in minutes, in 2nd place, Arsenal popped back up on top of the table with a wafer thin 2-point advantage on Manchester United, following the Gunners successful 1-0 win at home against Chelsea.

The Club Formerly Known As Mighty, looked rather normal today. Much of that owing to the absence of Didier Drogba. The Ivorian striker was sorely missed as Shevchenko (Fun fact: Shevchenko is Ukrainian for slow) did nothing to remind Blues fans that he had a glory days. Instead Avram Grant packed the midfield and massed defenders around the box, hoping that a draw would be his reward.

Arsenal was rusty for much of the game. Chief among the Gunners in that department was Cesc Fabregas. Returning from a 4-game spell, the young Spaniard's passes were off-pace all game long. As a result, the Arsenal attack proceeded in fits and stutters.

Captain Bill came to the rescue - as he always seems to do - escaping the admittedly shaky marking of Tal Ben Haim to head home a 1st half stoppage time corner kick that Peter Cech missed in the air - not something you see often!

The rest of the game ebbed and flowed with Arsenal looking at times on the verge of a 2nd goal and at others ready to give up the equalizer. In the late minutes as Chelsea sent more men forward, they looked dangerous and gave Arsenal trouble. At the other end, Arsenal's counters were unjustly denied the insurance goal they looked sure to produce.

SWP missed a gimmer equalizer. How much longer will he be playing in the EPL. All flash and dash, no cash. Here's all you need to know about SWP:

Shaun Wright-Phillips should have equalised but missed from six yards,

Was Jose Mourinho a good coach?

Arsenal did not beat Chelsea during Jose Mourinho's
entire tenure as Blues manager but have defeated Avram Grant's team at
the first attempt.

It was great to see RVP back in the mix. It was no fluke that the first two possessions after he came on he nearly scored or caused a score. I like that energy. I'm looking forward to seeing him get full games with Adebayor on the line.

Speaking of the lad from Togo, he played a strong game as he always seems to do. I thought the Alan Wiley's disallowance of his late goal was a sham. Foul? The two players were tussling in the air and Ade was giving as good as he was getting. It's not his fault that Ben Haim is a slow lug who can't stay on his feet.

Oh, well. Small potatoes in the big scheme of things. The game was exciting to the end and Arsenal remain toppers.