Avram's wish is Granted as Chelsea star Drogba sinks Arsenal

All those coaching seminars in Israel, all those mistakes in high-profile matches and all those moments of indecision have finally paid off.

"You don't know what you're doing," sang Chelsea's fans in the 70th minute. Oh yes he did.

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He brought off Michael Ballack and Claude Makelele, replaced them with Juliano Belletti and Nicolas Anelka and swapped 4-3-3 for 4-4-2. Genius.

Three minutes later they were level and eight minutes from time they were back in the hunt for the Barclays Premier League title.

That appeared to be unthinkable when they threw away maximum points at White Hart Lane last Wednesday and unpalatable after Bacary Sagna had put Arsenal ahead.

Suddenly it has become a distinct possibility. Who would have thought it?

Certainly no one inside Stamford Bridge when puzzled Chelsea supporters began singing the name of Jose Mourinho as Grant made the substitutions that appeared to land this game right in Arsenal's laps.

The Special One was at home with his feet up in Setubal, switching between the TV remote, sipping champagne and chuckling to himself as Chelsea set about surrendering their remarkable 77-game unbeaten run at Stamford Bridge.

The bubbles had almost burst. Arsenal had the game won.

The spirit of the San Siro swept through the Gunners, confidence flooded through them after William Gallas's pep talk on the pitch before the match and they dictated the tempo.

Sagna's goal put them back in the hunt for their first League title since the Invincibles in 2004.

Forget the draws with Birmingham, Aston Villa, Wigan and Middlesbrough: this was the real Arsenal.

High energy when the stakes are high. Instead, they are for the high jump.

"We should have won, but couldn't cope with Chelsea's long balls," said manager Arsene Wenger.

"Defensively, we have problems."

No kidding.

Gallas failed to clear when Drogba scored Chelsea's 73rd-minute equaliser and the Arsenal captain, along with central defensive partner Kolo Toure, were to blame when they conceded another.

"This is a big setback," admitted Wenger. "We are not short of confidence, but we have drawn four of our last five games.

"We had lapses in concentration and we have paid for it. We have to swallow it, but we were in control. Chelsea played long balls and we couldn't deal with it."

More accurately they could not deal with Drogba.

Gallas kept him quiet, making him stew for 45 minutes before he finally made an impact.

When he did, Drogba was ruthless.

The shirt was ripped off when he slid towards the Chelsea fans after he lashed the equaliser beyond Manuel Almunia.

Then came his second with a swivelled finish. Almunia got a touch, but the strike was too clean and too sweet for the Arsenal keeper.

"It was about time he did that," said Grant. "We had a few players who came back from the Africa Cup of Nations who were not in the best condition, but he is better now."

Drogba has done for Arsenal. Wenger will not admit it — he is too stubborn — but his team could not cope with the aerial bombardment after Grant's impressive changes.

Arsenal were nine points clear of Chelsea on February 23 and are now one point behind them.

They were six ahead of Manchester United at the same stage, but now they are lagging behind.

Not quite Devon Loch, but Wenger is flogging a dead horse.

They were in the home straight when they beat Blackburn on February 11, but Wenger has the international week to brood about the worst run at the club in nine years. That has to hurt.

He should spend the next seven days on Fantasy Island after complaining that Drogba's first goal was offside, but at least Grant is living in the real world.

With seven games to go, Chelsea are in the chase. Five points behind United — who visit Stamford Bridge on April 26. Absorbing stuff.

Little wonder that gladiator Grant entered the auditorium with something of a swagger. Someone had just told him that he had become the most successful manager in Chelsea's history with a 76 per cent win rate in the League (compared to you know who's 75.25). Absurd.

This was the man who could not beat a big team, remember. Beaten by Manchester United in his first game, beaten at Arsenal in December, beaten by Tottenham in the Carling Cup Final and beaten by Barnsley in the FA Cup.

The margin for error is wafer thin, but at least Grant is the first to recognise it.

"Sometimes the substitutions work, sometimes they don't," he added.

"We want to have two ways of playing and I told John Terry to tell the rest of the players to switch to 4-4-2. We had two good chances before we equalised, but I'm just glad the substitutions worked out."

Lucky manager? Well, it is better than being a losing one.