Seven minutes. A corner. Terry is given virtually a free header. Gael Clichy is seeing dead people and deserts the far post to hold hands with Samir Nasri at the near post. Alex Song momentarily wonders if he remembered to lock his front door before leaving home, and leaves Drogba unmarked at the far post to put the ball past Fawlty Manuel, who is doing his best impersonation of a jellyfish.

Twenty-three minutes. Counter attack catches Arsenal short at the back (last Sunday anybody?) and Drogba is not challenged by either Clichy or Vermaelen before shooting at hand height just to the left of the invertebrate in goal. He’s not even a shot-stopper anymore. Why is he out there?

That is what I have had in my heart since the end of the contest. It’s what has been festering in my mind while I have been visiting at the hospital. I wanted to get it in the blog for the benefit of those who think I am a blind optimist. Now I have had the moment of reflection that I advised just the other day I can focus on the eighty-eight unimportant minutes that we dominated, with as gutsy a display as we have shown for some time.

Dominating possession is one thing. Doing something meaningful with that dominance is crucial in games like this, and I am afraid that those who feared our lack of a goalscorer would cost us dear against the very best opponents have been proved correct. To win the Championship you need to grind out results as well as comfortably defeat the lesser lights.

Chelsea were battered from start to finish today, but defended magnificently, and when opportunities presented themselves to, let’s face it, the best in the business, he made us pay. As much as I hate Drogba, and it is with a passion, I assure you, he won the game for his side today without having to resort to the amateur dramatics that taint his performances all too frequently.

He produced the only moment of respite for the home side in the second half, when his free-kick smashed into the bar. That could have been three, and as much as we didn’t deserve a heavier margin of defeat, the ugly one was worth a hat-trick.

If you are looking for positives as an Arsenal fan who has not thrown in the towel, I would suggest the performance of Abou Diaby. He stood out, and thank goodness given his partner behind Cesc, Alex Song, chose today to have his one (we hope!) shocker of the season.

Diaby narrowly pipped the travelling support as the highlight of the day for the visitors. Sky sound recordists worked hard to keep much of what was sung from the ears of a tea-time audience, but you could certainly hear the massed ranks of the visitors throughout. They deserved something more.

Cesc showed once more why he should be a serious contender for player of the season. Sensing a couple of his colleagues were perhaps misfiring, he doubled his efforts. I just hope he doesn’t burn himself out before the run-in.

Ah! The run-in. It seems highly unlikely we will close the gap on both teams that are now comfortably ahead of us. Were we a point or two behind United and nine behind Chelsea I would be more optimistic, but they won’t both drop points. There is still a critical top three berth to secure though. In a World Cup year you will not want to be contesting a Champions League qualifier in August when players may only just be returning to training.

The thirteen games that remain start with potentially the trickiest of them all on Wednesday. Who will score against Liverpool? Will we still rely on Almunia as we attempt to keep them out at the other end? This game will tell us more than today’s I suspect. Liverpool are far from dining at the top table this season, and if we do not secure the points, having already beaten them away, then it will say more about our prospects than theirs.

It’s time for the Gunners to stand up and be counted, and to take advantage of that run-in.