Sunday’s moral boosting 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge has given Arsenal fans some early Christmas cheers although it has to be said that the North Londoners must now back up this come from behind win over close rivals Chelsea with a solid show of consistency going into the busy holiday period. What is extremely frustrating being an Arsenal fan is the very fact that the Gunners lost to the likes of Fulham, Stoke, Hull, Aston Villa and Man City having beaten both Manchester United and Chelsea in between those deserved losses. At this level a team vying for domestic supremacy cannot afford to be so inconsistent.

The win over Chelsea on Sunday could not have come at a more important time for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger’s men needed a strong response in the league following two consecutive league losses and what better way to restore the faith of the Emirates faithful by putting it aside past Luis Felipe Scolari’s weakened side. With this win Arsenal has somewhat put aside the internal differences that had gripped the club following the home loss to Aston Villa that saw William Gallas lose his captaincy to young Cesc Fabregas and the club struggling to overcome a crisis that could have possibly destroyed the season.

The time has come to lord over the disease of inconsistency and under-performance. Although it is too early to think Arsenal is back in the title race, it has to be said that a consistent winning performance over the busy festive period could see the Gunners back into thick of things at the top of the Premier League table provided there are slip ups on the part of Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea which in all probability could be the case given the hectic nature of the Christmas fixtures.

The 2-1 win over Chelsea also breaks a long drought for the side from the Emirates which last won at the Bridge in February 2004 courtesy of goals from Patrick Viera and Edu in that year of invincibility.

The first half was clearly frustrating for the traveling fans although Petr Cech was the busier of the two goalkeepers but when Johan Djorrou put the ball into his own net midway through the first half it looked as if Arsenal’s season was coming to a very early end. The team had no vision, certainly no mission and the players were going through a strange motion with their manager seemingly turning ferociously animated at the touchline. Yet things changed dramatically in the 59th minute albeit with a touch of luck some would say but then Arsenal’s been a bit unlucky over these years and unfortunate for Mr.Scolari that it had to be his team that succumbed to a rather soft miscalculation on the part of the match officials.

Chelsea clearly missed the services of suspended Didier Drogba who has a liking for Arsenal having scored twice to grab all three points at the bridge last season. How much the Blues missed the Ivory Coast striker was proved by an astounding fact that Manuel Almunia did not have to make a single genuine save for the whole game and that also at Stamford Bridge which, until the loss to Liverpool earlier this season, had a sense of invincibility against any opposition.

Robin Van Persie underlined his importance to the club for his double strike that again proved the player’s potential on big stages but again for Arsenal to be as consistent as champions United and title contenders Liverpool, both Van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor need to come up with strong match winning performances going into the most important time of the season.