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Drogba's double sinks Arsenal

Sun 7th, February 2010

London, England (Sports Network) - Didier Drogba's first-half brace allowed Chelsea to claim an important 2-0 win over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, returning the Blues to the top of the Premiership table.

Drogba opened the scoring inside of eight minutes and he added a second goal 15 minutes later, giving Chelsea a two-goal lead they never looked like giving away.

Chelsea moves two points clear of second-placed Manchester United with the win, while Arsenal's title hopes have all but disappeared as they are now nine points off the pace.

John Terry endured a terrible week leading up to the match as he was stripped of the England captaincy amid a scandal involving former teammate Wayne Bridge, but he had a hand in the opening goal early in the match.

A corner kick was played to the near post and Terry was able to flick it on to Drogba at the back post, where the striker easily stuffed it home from two yards out.

Arsenal responded well and they had Chelsea pinned back following the goal, but their best chance came in the 17th minute when Andrei Arshavin's volley eight yards from goal was hit into the legs of goalkeeper Petr Cech.

The hosts sat back and soaked up the Arsenal pressure before hitting the Gunners on the counter attack in the 23rd minute to take a 2-0 lead.

Frank Lampard carried the ball through midfield and played it wide to Drogba, who cut back past two defenders inside the area and lashed a left-footed shot past goalkeeper Manuel Almunia.

Arsenal wasn't able to create any real good opportunities until the 69th minute when a Cesc Fabregas free kick made its way past the wall and through traffic, only to be turned away by a good save from Cech.

It would be Arsenal's last decent chance as Chelsea easily cruised through the final 20 minutes, with Drogba nearly completing his hat trick six minutes from time with a 30-yard free kick that came back off the crossbar.

Sunday's other match saw Birmingham's Kevin Phillips come off the bench in the second half and score two goals in the final 10 minutes of a 2-1 Birmingham win over Wolverhampton.