I agree that Drogba’s 2nd owed a little to good luck, but the intent and the power of his run was very impressive. Clichy’s attempt to stop his was more than weak.

It may well be the case that if Drogba was in red today, that Arsenal would have won, but the cold truth is that he isn’t and unless Wenger gets the chequebook out, there won’t be a player of his quality wearing red for a long time. I also believe that if Almunia was in blue, Arsenal stood a better chance. Once again though, he wasn’t.

As a team, Arsenal continue to make the same mistakes over and over again against top opposition. their match against Liverpool on Wednesday is massive for a large number of reasons, whether or not victory will put them back in the running for the title or not, I don’t know. Liverpool are a difficult side to beat of late and Arsenal’s confidence will surely be quite low.

Secondly, Drogba’s second goal owed more than a little to good luck. Granted the tackles from Clichy and Gallas (I think) were ineffectual, but to say he ‘ghosted past’ them; it was more that Drogba’s poor and cumbersome turn resulting in two rather kind bobbles off his own legs allowed him the space to strike left-footed past Almunia (who might well have done better, I agree).

I think it’s a mentality thing for Arsenal. Fabregas is a fabulous footballer and has been the best Premier League midfielder this season by a stretch, but he’s not a leader of men that Viera was, or someone like Terry is. When the current Arsenal side’s talismen aren’t leading by example in a football sense, there isn’t someone to bring the side together in terms of team spirit and the fight.

Essentially though, I would echo Graham Souness on Sky Sports who said that in today’s game, if Drogba is playing for Arsenal, they win.