One of the greatest achievements during the four-years-and-counting fortress at Stamford Bridge is not just remaining unbeaten in the league during that time, it's the very small number of occasions we have come close to letting the run end.

There was a moment during the April run-in to the first championship under José Mourinho when Walter Pandiani gave Birmingham a 65th minute lead at the Bridge. It took Chelsea until nine minutes from the end to equalise. The saviour that day? Who else but Didier Drogba.

And then last season, Arsenal, one goal up through Mathieu Flamini must have believed they were about the end an eight-game wait for a win against Chelsea until with an even shorter six minutes to go, Michael Essien lashed in his famous swerving shot - voted the club's Goal of the Season last year.

And that was it until Sunday. Those two games were the only time in 77 games that the fans must have feared the worst.

With Arsenal the last to win a Premier League match on our home turf and also a side that won the reverse fixture back in December, Chelsea had every reason to expect a proper examination of our credentials again this weekend - and so it proved.

To have recovered from going a goal down in the second-half to not just remain undefeated but to take all three points, we surely have every right to consider ourselves genuine title challengers from now on - which means After The Whistle feels the time is right for a spot of fixture comparison.

When everyone returns from this week's round of international matches, it's straight back to league action with Chelsea playing a day later than Man United and Arsenal.

Both ourselves and Man United are at home while Arsenal travel to Bolton, a ground where they have only won two of their last eight visits.

Saturday 29 March
Bolton v Arsenal 3pm
Man United v Aston Villa 5.15pm
Sunday 30 March
Chelsea v Middlesbrough 1.30pm

The following weekend, both Chelsea and Man United have to play off the back of trips abroad in the Champions League while Arsenal will be midway through their triple header against Liverpool.

Saturday 5 April
Arsenal v Liverpool 12.45pm
Man City v Chelsea 3pm
Sunday 6 April
Middlesbrough v Man United 1.30pm

Then following the Champions League second legs, our action is delayed until Monday night, by which time we will know who has taken points from whom at Old Trafford.

Sunday 13 April
Man United v Arsenal 4pm
Monday 14 April
Chelsea v Wigan 8pm

The following weekend it is Saturday soccer for all three challengers with both Chelsea and Man U away in the north-west against teams who have only lost three league games at home in the case of Everton and four in the case of Blackburn.

Saturday 19 April
Arsenal v Reading 12.45pm
Everton v Chelsea 3pm
Blackburn v Man United 5.15pm

Before we finally go head-to-head with Man U at the Bridge, there is the wild card of midweek Champions League semi-final matches for any who have made it through. The key for Chelsea is to have kept close enough to the current league leaders that they will really feel the heat in this next domestic game.

Saturday 26 April
Chelsea v Man United 12.45pm
Monday 28 April
Derby v Arsenal

Further midweek Champions League dates are then scheduled and television may yet have a say on the kick-off times for the final two weekends. For Chelsea, it was a 0-0 draw at Newcastle the same weekend Man U dropped a point at home to Middlesbrough that cost us dear in last season's run in. West Ham have won their last three games against Alex Ferguson's team.

The final weekend sees Chelsea the one side at home out of the three.

Saturday 3 May
Newcastle v Chelsea 3pm
Man United v West Ham 3pm
Arsenal v Everton 3pm

Saturday 11 May
Chelsea v Bolton 3pm
Wigan v Man United 3pm
Sunderland v Arsenal 3pm


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Didier Drogba's scoring history against Arsenal now reads two goals at Cardiff in the 2005 Community Shield, one goal at home in the league in the same month, two in last season's Carling Cup final and now taking the total to seven strikes, his double from yesterday.

These two goals were the first scored without Philippe Senderos in the Gunners central defence, the player picked out by many observers as one who has been given a tough time by our centre-forward in the past.

Instead it was Kolo Touré and William Gallas engaged in contest with Drogba and the signs that our man would eventually triumph were there as early as the third minute when he turned and was fouled just outside the box by Gallas - who we know from five years watching him in blue, is as good a one-on-one defender as you will find anywhere.

When Arsenal lost right-back Bacary Sagna to injury during yesterday's second half, Arsène Wenger chose not to bring Senderos on and move Gallas to full-back. Instead Abou Diaby, more usually deployed in midfield, was introduced and asked to play right-back.

The Arsenal manager, who had earlier deviated from the expected by lining his side up in a 4-2-3-1 shape rather than 4-4-2, was left to question his defence after the game.

'It's a game we should have won but we have shown some lapses in concentration that we have paid for,' Wenger claimed.

'Defensively we lost control of the game today. We got caught when Anelka came on by the long ball and the physical battle.'


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The game was one that had the press writing almost exclusively about the football rather than any controversial incidents and that was a fact celebrated by The Sunday Telegraph's Patrick Barclay who spoke to After The Whistle following the game.

'I thought it was a terrific match,' he said. 'The first half was tight and tense and very competitive and all we needed were goals and we got those in the second half. It was a game that lived up to its billing.

'We have had a lot of talk over bad tackles and things like that and people saying tackles may be driven out of the game and that would be awful. Here we had a game full of physical endeavour, all the ingredients you associate with a local derby, and no nasty incidents whatsoever.

'It was a great game to watch because nobody pulled out of anything and nobody did anything naughty.

'I thought Arsenal played well, particularly Fabregas, but what turned the game was the persistence of Didier Drogba.

'During the match I said to a fellow journalist, have you ever seen a better 'English' centre-forward than this guy - and he said no.

'Drogba has all the virtues you associate with that type of player but above all he has persistence.

'In the first half he had a chance when all he needed to do was control John Terry's ball but it bounced off his thigh and then his shin and through to the keeper - and you thought it may not be his day, but he wouldn't settle for that. He eventually wore what was a very good defence down.

'There were also good substitutions by Avram Grant. Some fans may yet to be convinced but he got everything right today. Drogba could have had a hat-trick when Belletti, one of the players who came on, made a wonderful cross and only a great save denied the goal.'


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A look at our inbox since Sunday's game shows that some supporters remain concerned over vulnerability from set plays, Arsenal having scored from a corner, as they did in the away game.

Fadipe Sulaiman points out that Bacary Sagna followed the likes of Fernando Torres and Carlos Tevez in netting their first goals for their current clubs by opening the scoring against Chelsea this season - but unlike in those games our correspondent points out, the Blues succeeded in turning the result completely around.

The substitutions are debated as well but After The Whistle is indebted to supporter Dave Key who in the interests of selfless research, checked out how yesterday's result was taken in north London.

Dave picks up the story:

'After Sunday's match I nipped up to Finsbury Park to have a drink with a couple of Finsbury Park-based Blues.

'At about 10pm, we passed by the Gunners Pub on Blackstock Road, a citadel of Arsenal support for decades. Although the night was still young, and the next day was a bank holiday, peering through the windows we could see that the pub was completely deserted except for a lone figure at the bar.

'The pub windows were slightly tinted so we couldn't make him out too well, but the bloke looked tall, bespectacled and not at all happy. M. Wenger, drowning his sorrows, we wondered?

'Not wishing to intrude on private grief (or, more to the point, hand over our cash to such a blatant Gooners-supporting establishment) we carried on walking. Drogba's two late goals must have cost that place a packet.'


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So the first team did the business against Arsenal on Sunday, the youth team did similar on Friday, beating Arsenal's youngsters 1-0. Now all eyes turn to the reserves to see if they can make it a notable three-out-of-three when they play Arsenal at Barnet FC on Tuesday evening.

It is a game that will be screened live on Chelsea TV, as will the FA Youth Cup final first leg against Man City on Thursday 3 April.

Anyone who can make it along to Stamford Bridge that evening to cheer on our exciting team for the future in the club's first FA Youth Cup final for 47 years will be most welcome.


afterthewhistle@chelseafc.com