Weak bench leads to Blues downfall

The obvious conclusion as to where this match was won and lost would be to point to Chelsea's slack defending around the hour mark. However, a look towards the subs' bench provides a more telling story.

Last March, Chelsea entered the final minutes against Arsenal also trailing by one goal, but previous manager Avram Grant had Nicolas Anelka to bring on to play alongside Didier Drogba.

The game turned in a flash and Grant had his first win against a top-four club, yet Luiz Felipe Scolari is still waiting, partly because he didn't have such attacking options at his disposal.

Of course, he wasn't helped by Drogba's suspension or Joe Cole's injury, however his late introduction of Miroslav Stoch reeked of desperation. What kind of message would sending on such an unproven youngster have sent to the rest of the players?

The 19-year-old is highly regarded, but to bring him on in such a massive match says more about the Brazilian's state of panic than his faith in the Slovakian winger's ability.

Chelsea lost out on Robinho to Manchester City in the summer, but their defeat to Arsenal showed they could lose a lot more this season.