Some games leave you feeling elated, some games leave you feeling relieved. A sense of injustice can stay with you for months, even years after a match has finished (Thierry Henry would do well to stay out of Ireland for the rest of his life, unless he likes 'random' cavity searches at customs). Some games leave you feeling such despondency that you start to wonder whether it's all worth it.

Some games just leave you numb. Arsenal vs. Chelsea was one such game. By the time Didier Drogba's 86th minute free kick found the back of the net, all you could do was admire his technique, and put to the back of your mind the fact that it was the third goal Chelsea had scored. With no reply. At the Emirates. So lacklustre was Arsenal's peformance that it was difficult to feel anything really. Wenger points to an Arshavin goal which was disallowed early in the second half, a goal that could have changed things dramatically, but away from the media spotlight he'd do well to address his own team's failings, which were many.

Arsenal started reasonably brightly, but possesion did not convert to chances. Chelsea soaked up the early pressure with consummate ease, and it wasn't long before they were able to start asking questions of the Gunner's defence. No one really had any answers to Drogba's power or Anelka's ingenuity, and Chelsea's first two goals were absolute gifts from the home side. Both came about through crosses from Ashley Cole out on the left (as much as it pains me to say it, he was one of the best players on the pitch, in spite of the the hostile atmosphere), who was given far too much space by Sagna. The first was stabbed home by Drogba, inexplicably left free in the six yard box, the second was laughably turned home by Vermaelen who, to be fair, would have done extremly well to do anything but score an own goal given the quality of the cross.

Wenger introduced the completely ineffective Theo Walcott at the start of the second half, but in spite of his bufoonery on the right wing there might have been a ray of hope, had the referee not adjudged Eduardo's foot to be high when he basically kicked the ball out of Cech's hands. If the ensuing goal had stood, Arsenal would have had the foothold in the game they so desperately needed, and I wouldn't have minded so much that I'd spilled my pint when I leapt up to celebrate it.

The decision was probably a fair one though, and it's awfully telling that a correctly ruled out goal was Wenger's focus in the post-match conference. Whether it was a tactic employed to deflect attention from his under-performing team, or whether he genuinely believed it was a fair goal, the real story he needs to look at is that Arsenal managed just 5 shots in the entire game.

That's not shot on target. Just shots. Five of them. In 90 minutes.

If your team's tactic is essentially, if you score 2 goals we'll score 5, then you better make damn sure your star striker doesn't get crocked, otherwise you're just left with a defence that leaks like a papier-maché prophylactic.

It's nearly impossible to overstate the impact that Van Persie's injury will have on this team. His injury is season-ending for himself and Arsenal. The Dutchman was at the hub of one of the most lethal strike forces in Europe, and without that brain to issue commands, limbs just seem to be flailing wildly, like a drunk uncle dancing at a wedding. There's no incisiveness, no spark, no flair. There's no one to play in the middle of a front three either, at least until Bendtner returns, so Wenger might have to overhaul his tactics if he wants to see his team, who had previously been averaging three goals a game, end this run of two games without scoring.

As far as I'm concerned, Van Persie's injury has effectively killed off any chance Arsenal had of challenging for major honours this year. He was so incredibly important to the team, and unless someone can step up and assert their authority on an offense that looks completely lost, Arsenal are going to struggle at both ends of the pitch for months to come.