Arsene Wenger will certainly remember his 1000th game in charge of Arsenal, but unfortunately it will be for all the wrong reasons as the Gunners crashed to a humiliating 6-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Travelling to Stamford Bridge to play league leaders Chelsea was a difficult prospect for title chasing Arsenal, but the capitulation is devastating for the fans and for the club´s season. It now looks unlikely that the team will lift the Premier League trophy, with Chelsea, Man City, and Liverpool all now above Arsenal in the league.
Some will argue that the game could have been different if Kieran Gibbs had not been wrongly sent off in the 15th minute. However, the sad and worrying truth is Chelsea was much the better team before that (leading 2-0) and were romping to victory anyway. The Blues opened the scoring in the 5th minute through Samuel Eto´o and then doubled the advantage thanks to Andre Schurrle in the 7th minute.
The defining decision of the game arrived in the 15th minute when Edin Hazard´s goal bound shot was pushed wide by the hand of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. It was a stone wall penalty but inexplicably referee Andrew Mariner sent off Kieran Gibbs on accident. It was an astonishing mistake by the official, but nevertheless Arsenal were rightly down to 10 men.
Hazard slotted the penalty passed a disappointing Wojciech Szczesny and Chelsea never looked back, adding another before half time and another two goals in the second half. The Gunners still have a chance to win the Premier League, but the team will now have to be wary in an attempt to secure 4th place. While the title is still in sight, it seems unlikely considering the players seem unable to beat a direct title rival. It is worrying that Arsenal has lost 5-1 to Liverpool and 6-0 to Chelsea in recent weeks, suggesting a lack of quality in the squad. With Man City still to come, that will now be the next defining game for the club.