ON THE MORAL HIGH GROUND – AGAIN
Like a hulking, sweating 'lifer' desperate for a fix of honey from his prison plaything, Didier Drogba reprised his popular role as Arsenal's tormentor-in-chief yesterday, leaving Arsène Wenger's team curled in the foetal position and begging for someone to just end the pain.
Two goals inside the first 25 minutes from the Ivorian helped him temporarily wrench the media spotlight away from Daddy of the Year and, cough, "perfect captain" John Terry, while also knocking Wenger's perennial work in progress out of yet another title race. Still, it was fun while it lasted.
So after a season that many have argued is the most exciting and unpredictable in years, we now have a top four of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in mid-February. Who on earth could have called that? Oh.
Yet despite seeing his side once again defend with all the intelligence of a Tony Cascarino column ghostwritten by George W. Bush, Wenger insisted he was "completely happy" with the performance at Stamford Bridge.
Really Arsene? Were you completely happy with Gael Clichy, who moved off the far post and shuffled nervously along the goal line for Drogba's first goal like a toddler who has just wet themselves and is trying to avoid showing their parents? Were you completely happy with Manuel Almunia, who did a marvellous impression of a waxwork figure as he stared ahead with the cold, dead eyes of a bedraggled sniper as Drogba fired past him for the second goal? What about Theo Walcott, who made about as much impact as John Terry's marriage vows?
Wenger also found the time to have a dig at Carlo Ancelotti's table-topping side, for apparently not winning with the requisite flair. Shame on them, that successful, winning team: they must learn to pass, rather than shoot, ad infinitum. The bounders.
"
You have to congratulate Chelsea but we didn't get a demonstration of football," the Frenchman screeched haughtily. "We had 70 per cent possession of the ball. We were not running after the ball.
They [Chelsea] did not dominate."

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"We were always in an attacking position. We were always risking everything going forward and they were good on counter-attacks. We were a bit uncertain at the start, but when we got into it we were completely dominant (one problem Arsene: at that point you were two goals down and playing against a confident, powerful team that do not like to hand goals to their opponents on a plate, all without the help of a recognised striker on the pitch. Still at least you dominated possession)."
When asked about his opposite number's comments, Ancelotti could barely disguise his confusion. After all, for all these years he has been labouring under the misapprehension that football is about winning matches. Silly sausage.
"Maybe Arsenal had more possession than us, but that is not football," he said. "
Football is about results. I think we deserved to win. When you speak about a match, you can't speak only about possession of the ball. No.
You have to control the attack and defence.
"When we went ahead, it was very important to play on the counter-attack. Our second goal was an unbelievable goal. Fantastic movement, fantastic pass and a fantastic shot from Didier. This is football."
That's you told, Arsene. Now, start preparing your side to face the surprisingly in-form Liverpool:
forget the Sky-conceived concept of the 'Race for Fourth', it's all about the 'Race for Third' now.
Try to contain your excitement, Arsenal fans, this is where is gets interesting. Possibly.