Chelsea were lucky!

The absence of Viera (suspended) and Adams (injured) was always going to make this encounter harder than usual and for the first half we were outplayed in the centre of the park.

This was evident by the chances created for the excellent Hasselbank who made his intentions clear with a great header, which forced a good save from "my little pony" after 15 minutes. Hasselbank you might remember ended our championship challenge in 1998/99 when he scored (probably his last goal) for Leeds at Elland Road. And the goal he scored last night was from a similar position - "my little pony" should be used those shots by now! Ironically it was not Chelsea's midfield, but confusion between two Arsenal defenders, Luzhny and Silvinho, that created Chelsea's well-deserved lead. They simply clattered into each other leaving Hasselbank time deliver a powerful grass-cutter from outside the area beating "my little pony" inside his left hand post. It wasn't all one-way traffic though as you would expect.

With attacking flair of Henry and KANU combined with workmanlike performances of Grimandi (who headed wide) and Parlour we created some openings. Pires and Lauren seemed at times to be a bit overawed by the occasion; perhaps a combination of the noise, passion and speed of the game took them by surprise. In Desailly and Panucci (who looks like a great buy) Chelsea have two really accomplished defenders and they made life difficult throughout the first half. Things were however quite different in the second half and an equaliser looked imminent as we pushed forward and the team seemed to settle and demonstrate a better understanding of each other.

The pick of the chances was KANU's shot, which easily beat Cudicini but not the Chelsea woodwork. Despite our renewed purpose I wasn't at all surprised that Chelsea doubled their lead with a good shot from Zola which this time beat "my little pony" to his right. The substitution of Dixon and Pires 12 minutes later, for Bergkamp and Wiltord, gave us even more impetus and the busy, and at times brilliant Silvinho took advantage of it. He linked up well with Bergkamp in midfield and put a deft little pass down the inside-left channel to Henry on the outside of the area, who took one touch with his left and then put the ball around Cudicini with his right. Two-One.

Going two-nil down must have reminded us and the Chelsea defence, of KANU's stunning hat trick in the last 15 minutes of the match the previous year; and I think a lot of nerves crept into the blue ranks once we pulled one back. To add to those bitter memories Silvinho produced a sensational left-footed shot almost from the same position as Nigel Winterburn's goal when we beat them 3-2 in the same month of our double winning season. Hasselbaink was clearly angry at the way Chelsea threw away a two goal lead and to be honest, at the end, it could have gone either way again. But in retrospect I would say Chelsea were lucky to get a draw.

Riley - mindful of last Saturday's ill-tempered clash between France and England - was very lenient to allow Le Saux to stay on the field for his disgusting challenge on Dixon. And whilst Dixon returned from the sideline, clearly still in pain, Zola exploited well the space left by his absence and scored their second. So they can't complain too much.

Championship Contenders?

Chelsea consistently provide outstanding opposition against us and after last night's performance it is clear they are our only true London rivals. In terms of challenging for the title they still concede goals too easily, although Hasselbaink will be a great match winner for them - something they didn't have last year. Up front I think we are as good as any other club in strength and depth this year. Our problem will be keeping them out. "My little pony" (who should be concerned about his place as Arsenal's and England's No.1) might have done better with at least one of the goals, although he did put in some good saves and acquitted himself better than he did against Sunderland and Charlton.

Our defence is still performing below our expectations, which are admittedly very high. And in midfield without Viera we lack craft, bite, cohesion and resilience - I think there we need to look at maybe one or two more acquisitions in this area. Given this is arguably the hardest game of the season we performed well. I think this squad has a better chance of going the distance against MU this year and I look forward to seeing us against them on 1st October at Old Trafford.