Arsenal hammered at home by irrepressible Chelsea

Arsenal 1 Chelsea 4. Arsene Wenger's season went from bad to worse yesterday after they suffered a four-goal mauling at the hands of Chelsea at home, amid signs that the Emirates faithful are finally beginning to tire of the Frenchman's much-vaunted youth-first selection policy. And the pain could worse next weekend when Arsenal travel to Old Trafford.

The older and more experienced west Londoners ran riot at the end of a painful week for both clubs, who were eliminated from the Champions League by Man Utd and Barcelona in wildly differing circumstances. Chelsea could have gone into their shell after the injustice and indiscipline of their Wednesday night defeat, but instead found an Arsenal side whose defence seemed to have disintegrated over the last week.

Alex opened the scoring for Chelsea with a sublime header after Didier Drogba had won a free kick outside the Arsenal box on the half hour mark. Wenger later claimed the Ivorian had gone down to easily to win the set piece, but in truth Drobga was immense throughout the game, despite the Uefa charges hanging over his head.

Nicolas Anelka made the tie safe with a long-range effort against his old club that flew past Fabianski in the Arsenal goal - without Almunia Arsenal have no presence in the box and a new back-up keeper must be one of the most pressing holes Wenger needs to fill in the close season.

After the break, Toure inadvertently diverted in hated Emirates old boy Ashley Cole's cross, and while substitute Nicklas Bendtner headed in with 20 minutes to go to give the Gunners scant hope, Florent Malouda's late tap-in ensured the three-goal winning margin returned. Guus Hiddink will feel he is leaving a Chelsea side that is largely functional when his interim managership of Chelsea is up in three games time - Arsene Wenger will view next season with less certainty.

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING:
Matt Hughes, the Times: "Such is Arsene Wenger’s endless optimism that he sees the heaviest of grey skies as a dark shade of blue, but after this second humiliating home defeat in five days even the Arsenal manager must sense the storm clouds gathering over the club. If not, then the loud booing that rang around the half-empty Emirates Stadium after the final whistle will surely have altered even his sunny disposition. The world as viewed by Wenger must be a beautiful place in which to live, because he sees no problems, only solutions."

Dominic Fifield, the Guardian: "Wenger remains committed to his vision of the club's future but his insistence that this was far from a poor performance, and that all remains essentially rosy, did seem delusional. The past week has been so chastening that another summer of prudence and youthful acquisitions geared at the long term will surely not be tolerated by those who were grumbling their way from the arena long before the end. Manchester United had arrived in north London last Tuesday with the Champions League semi-final apparently in the balance, only to breeze to comfortable success." ·