John Terry remained as inspirational as ever in a Chelsea shirt as the Blues put an end to Arsenal's title dreams.
Stripped of the England captaincy 48 hours earlier and the subject of more lurid headlines about his private life, Terry responded in a typically defiant manner as two first-half goals from Didier Drogba put Chelsea back on top of the Barclays Premier League.
It was perhaps inevitable that Drogba's first goal in the eighth minute arrived courtesy of a glancing header from Terry.
Taunted by Arsenal fans throughout for his alleged affair with French lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel, the former girlfriend of Terry's one-time team-mate Wayne Bridge, the Chelsea captain produced a commanding performance at the heart of the defence.
The victory restored Chelsea's two-point lead over Manchester United at the top of the table and, more significantly, increased the gap over third-placed Arsenal to nine.