20/04/2005  Chelsea 0 Arsenal 0
 
Arsenal managed to postpone Chelsea's title celebrations as they refused to surrender their trophy without one last stand at Stamford Bridge.

But after waiting 50 years for only the second league title in their history, a delay of another week or two will surely not make that much difference to Jose Mourinho's side.

For while this goalless draw ensures Chelsea cannot clinch the trophy at home to Fulham on Saturday, it is surely now only a matter of when, not if, they will prevail.

With Chelsea's gap maintained at 11 points, with just five games left to play, Arsenal must beat Tottenham next Monday to extend the Blues' wait beyond their trip to Bolton the following weekend.

Either way, the title baton is clearly being passed on, although Arsenal managed to display the kind of resolve at Stamford Bridge that will be needed to hang onto Ashley Cole, if not the title.

In midfield, Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fabregas tackled voraciously, even if Frank Lampard matched them step for step in an enthralling personal contest.

And while the Gunners patently lacked the cutting edge of Thierry Henry up front, Philippe Senderos and Kolo Toure coped manfully with the physical threat of Didier Drogba.

It was, however, still too little, too late as only victory could have reignited Arsenal's faint hopes of actually retaining their title for the first time under Wenger.

Then again, despite Chelsea's clear lead in the title race, they have not beaten Arsenal in the league since 1995, when Mark Hughes scored the winner and John Terry was a 14-year-old ballboy.

In the early stages at least, it showed. Arsene Wenger's side were playing for pride and, while the game lacked the intensity of a title decider, they clearly dominated the first-half.

With just two minutes gone, Jose Antonio Reyes, of all people, won a header against Glen Johnson and Robert Pires thundered a volley against the underside of the bar.

The ball, however, stayed out and Pires wasted an even better chance when he dragged his shot wide of the far post after Terry's attempted clearance had been blocked.

While Pires' low shot was also saved by Petr Cech, Arsenal found Terry and Ricardo Carvalho in a determined mood.

And when they were on the back foot, Mourinho's side actually flourish as they are allowed to play on the counter-attack.

Indeed, with 31 minutes gone, they broke with characteristic pace as Claude Makelele fired a swift pass through to Damien Duff, who scampered into space before slipping the ball to Drogba.

His shot was nevertheless saved by Jens Lehmann with his legs, while Joe Cole could not quite reach the Chelsea striker's cross soon afterwards.

William Gallas needed to cover across to block Gilberto Silva's path to goal, but otherwise the home side were growing in stature as the interval approached.

Chelsea's Cole - Joe, that is, not Ashley - shot over the bar from a tight angle.

The Arsenal full-back, making his 150th league start, was, however, fully committed to his current side's cause, showing exactly why Chelsea were so keen to treat him to tea and biscuits.

It was left to Lampard to rally Chelsea by example as he took the ball off Pires' foot just as the Frenchman was taking aim in front of goal.

He was also there at the other end, firing just inches wide after Drogba's clever dummy, while the Ivory Coast international also came agonisingly close from Duff's cutback.

Indeed, now it was Chelsea imposing themselves on the game, with Lampard flashing a free-kick just wide. Still the deadlock remained though.

Both sides made changes, with the arrivals of Robin van Persie and Jeremie Aliadiere proving Arsenal's need for victory, while the combative Tiago showed Chelsea's resolve as he came on for Joe Cole.

And while Mateja Kezman also came on for Duff, whose volley had just been blocked, and Drogba fired just over the bar, there was no late drama, even if Wenger became rather rattled on the sidelines.

The champagne, meanwhile, remains on ice - but surely only for a week or two longer.