Tue, Dec 01, 2009 page20

• Wenger fumes at ref after Chelsea win

  GUNNERS MISFIRE Chelsea’s combination of power and poise proved too much for Arsenal, who had won every home match this season prior to Sunday’s game

  • AP AND AFP
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  Chelsea maintained their grip at the top of the Premier League on Sunday by beating Arsenal 3-0 after two goals from Didier Drogba and an own-goal.

  Drogba scored in the 41st minute after John Terry brought the ball down the left and passed to Ashley Cole. The former Arsenal left back crossed to Drogba, who steered the ball in off the woodwork with his right foot.

  An own-goal by Thomas Vermaelen, who turned in a cross by Cole with his right knee, put the visitors 2-0 up four minutes later.

  

  Chelsea’s Didier Drogba celebrates after scoring during their Premier League match against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday.

  PHOTO: REUTERS

  Chelsea scored a third goal minutes before the final whistle when Drogba’s free kick flew past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

  Arsene Wenger was fuming with referee Andre Marriner after his decision to rule out a goal from Andrey Arshavin ended Arsenal’s hopes of a second-half fightback.

  Wenger’s side were trailing 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday when Arshavin lashed home from close range early in the second half.

  Marriner ruled that Arsenal forward Eduardo had been guilty of dangerous play as he flicked the ball away from Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech’s grasp moments before Arshavin struck.

  “How can he see Eduardo kicking the ball from Cech when it was a Chelsea player kicking the ball? That was a very important goal in this kind of game and it was big mistake by the referee,” Wenger said.

  “What can you say about referees this year? The Chelsea v Manchester United game was clearly decided by the referee. It is important they don’t make mistakes in big games,” he said.

  “I believe he made a massive mistake at a very important part of the game. He can’t say to me that he saw Eduardo kicking the ball out of Cech’s hands,” Wenger said.

  “He told me it was dangerous play from our player. He got the turning point of the game wrong. It was not a serious decision,” he said.

  Wenger, whose side now trail Premier League leaders Chelsea by 11 points, acknowledged that his players’ sloppy defending was also to blame for the defeat, but he refused to give Chelsea any credit.

  “The score is a very unfair reflection of the game but it is the score and we cannot change it now,” Wenger said.

  “I believe that Chelsea had absolutely everything for them. The first shot on goal they scored and the second cross they scored. And after that it was difficult,” he said.

  “They are physically strong players, but that is the impression you get when they are 2-0 up. They just defended in their own half and attacked on the break,” he said. “They lost many balls and made many technical mistakes but we couldn’t take advantage.”

  While Wenger was left to lick his wounds, Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti could savor another emphatic display that extended his side’s lead at the top to five points.

  “It was a very good performance. If you win 3-0 at Arsenal you have to do a good job. The defense did a fantastic job, all the players worked for the team,” he said.

  “Arsenal kept the ball well in the first half but we always had the possibility to score on the counter-attack. We stopped them in midfield. There we won the game,” the Italian said.

  Chelsea’s potent combination of power and poise proved too much for Arsenal and Ancelotti, who revealed Ashley Cole had suffered a slight muscle tear, admitted he was impressed with the way his players set about the task of subduing a team who had won every home match this season.

  “Strength is a quality of this team, we have to use this. We have a lot of different qualities, mental as well as physical,” Ancelotti said.

  “We wanted to use intelligence to defend our half and there we won the game. Arsenal put a lot of players in midfield and sometimes they lost the balance,” he said.

  Also See: Reds win leaves Everton feeling blue

  English Premier League

  	Team	P	GD	PTS
  1	Chelsea	14	28	36
  2	Manchester United	14	17	31
  3	Tottenham Hotspur	14	14	26
  4	Arsenal	13	18	25
  5	Liverpool	14	11	23
  6	Aston Villa	14	8	23
  7	Manchester City	13	7	22
  8	Sunderland	14	1	20
  9	Stoke City	14	-2	20
  10	Fulham	14	2	19
  11	Birmingham City	14	-2	18
  12	Burnley	14	-12	17
  13	Blackburn	14	-12	17
  14	Wigan	14	-16	17
  15	Hull	15	-14	16
  16	Everton	14	-8	15
  17	West Ham United	14	-2	14
  18	Bolton Wanderers	13	-11	12
  19	Wolves	14	-15	10
  20	Portsmouth	14	-12	7

   
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