In defeating Arsenal, Chelsea have sent a big message to their Premier League title rivals

The Emirates had all but emptied, numbed Arsenal players still drifting away utterly deflated in defeat, when Didier Drogba surveyed what remained of the chasing pack. “We have the team to stay ahead of all the others,” said the Ivorian. “The gap isn’t enough yet, but it’s still a good gap. When you’re top of the league you only have to concentrate on yourselves. The others have to chase you. They have to produce more and have to put more effort in to win games. We have just sent a big message to the teams in England.”

This Chelsea side will take some clawing back now. Victories over the other members of the established elite four, together with a spanking of Tottenham Hotspur’s pretenders, have earned Carlo Ancelotti’s team their breathing space with a visit to an apparently nervous and vulnerable Manchester City on Saturday doing little to suggest momentum is about to be checked. Only Aston Villa, currently sixth, and Wigan have gleaned any reward from a collision with the London club this term, both bizarrely managing to outmuscle the leaders en