LUIZ Felipe Scolari had every right to lament a linesman's failure to spot that Robin Van Persie was offside when he rifled in Arsenal's equaliser at the Bridge on Sunday. But there will be no long-term mileage in deflecting from the Blues' own shortcomings.

It could be argued that without that unexpected stroke of good fortune, the Gunners would not have gone on to become the second team this season to win at Chelsea's once impregnable home. Yet the fact Scolari's men have now dropped 12 points from their eight games in west London paints a telling picture.

Blues fans must crave the certainties of old when a 1-0 lead effectively meant three points were on the way, but the goals have dried up and visiting teams are starting to fancy their chances. Even teams as psychologically fragile as Arsenal, who arrived with five league defeats already on the debit sheet, could not be swept aside.

Once Scolari's anger towards the officials has subsided, he will have to address the more profound problems that are affecting his team and try to identify a solution.

He quickly needs to discover whether Didier Drogba's flirtation with Inter last week has any substance because if the Ivorian intends to move on to Italy, the Blues badly need another striker with the sort of presence he has provided to unsettle the best defences.

Too few chances were created by the Blues and too few questions were asked of young defender Johan Djourou, even if the Swiss centre-half did score the own goal that gave Chelsea initial control of their destiny.

Arsenal, for instance, had Emmanuel Adebayor. A striker not touching the heights of last season and still not at peace with Gunners fans after his own potential move to Serie A in the summer. But the Togo striker was still a threat and he won two headers which brought about Van Persie's two goals in a crazy three-minute spell on the hour.

Chelsea do not seem to be able to fire when Frank Lampard has a quiet day and Deco looked a shadow of the man who promised so much in the opening weeks of the season when he looked unstoppable.

It was suggested in the summer that Barcelona were willing to let the Portuguese go because he could no longer be relied upon to regularly deliver the high levels of performance he is famed for. Chelsea must hope Deco proves those stories to be wide of the mark, but they acquired Andre Schevchenko when he was past his best and may have a similar problem with their hugely gifted midfielder. 

Maybe the return of Joe Cole and Ricardo Carvalho will be enough to re-establish Chelsea's sense of invincibility and after all, Scolari's men are still on top of the Premier League table - for one more day at least - having won all their away games.

But there is unease which comes from the home fortress having been breached a couple of times when it took nearly 90 matches for anyone to leave with all three points.

It was Arsene Wenger who best summed up the damage the loss of a long unbeaten run can do. "We went 49 games unbeaten, but when we lost the first one, we couldn't win for the next five," the Arsenal manager said.

"A kind of charisma goes when you have a long record and then you lose it. It is as if you've taken the players up Everest, then brought them down, then told them they have to climb up again. Sometimes they don't want to do it."

If this is to be a successful season, the Blues have no option now but to maintain their superlative domestic away form. Having played Arsenal, Liverpool, Man United and Aston Villa at home, they know they are going to have to gain something from all their main title rivals in hostile territory. The way things have been going for them at Stamford Bridge of late, they might just consider that a blessing.