Sunday's encounter with Chelsea turned out to be an all-too-familiar story. After a purposeful start by Arsenal, the Blues soon settled into their stride and proved to be stronger and more powerful in every department, cantering to a victory that puts them firmly in charge at the top of the table.

In common with so many of the meetings between the two sides in recent seasons, at times, it was boys versus men and, despite the positive spin that Arsene Wenger tried to put on things after the game, the truth was that Chelsea were by far the better team and the Gunners looked a long way short of what is required in terms of being genuine title contenders.

There was a telling statistic in yesterday’s matchday programme. Since Didier Drogba has been at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal have never won a game in which he has started. Conversely, the Gunners have not lost a match when the Ivorian has been missing. Despite his two goals and the fact that once again he proved to be Arsenal’s main torturer, to say that he was the difference between the two teams would be understating the fact that Chelsea were superior to the Gunners all over the pitch but, in a way, he is the personification of the gulf between the two clubs at the moment.

Drogba may have a few less-savoury aspects to his game but he is strong, powerful, skilful, he can finish and, most of all, he has a winning mentality. It’s true that he goes down far too easily too many times during most games but, when he wants to, he has the strength to brush defenders aside and create chances out of nothing. Looking across the Arsenal team there is no one who has his build or strength or - and this hardest part to admit - his attitude.

After a period of ever-increasing pressure yesterday afternoon, Drogba gave Chelsea the lead in the 41st minute and an unfortunate own goal from Tomas Vermaelen on the stroke of half-time put them two up at the break. Watching the Arsenal team trudge off with their heads down at the interval, one sensed the game was already up. An early flurry in the second period saw the Gunners have a goal disallowed but after that the momentum fell away and the visitors looked eminently comfortable.

Drogba added a third with a stunning strike from a freekick but the game felt over long before that. It was sad to see. Where was the Tony Adams-style character trying to pick the team up? Where was the Ian Wright-style never-say-die level of effort? Where was the Patrick Vieira combativeness in midfield? The answer to all those questions is: nowhere. The worrying suspicion is that, rather than those facets just being absent yesterday, they do not actually exist in this group of Arsenal players.

So, where does this leave Arsene Wenger and his squad? On the evidence of yesterday’s performance and the season so far, this team does not have what it takes to win the Premier League. The good form of the early part of the season looks to have been a false dawn and there has not actually been much improvement since this time last year.

Having lost four matches before the end of November, a quite incredible run between now and the end of the season will have to be conjured up for the club to have any chance of being in there at the death. One would be hard-pressed to find many Arsenal supporters who still have faith that the Gunners are in any way serious challengers - and, looking at the faces of the players yesterday, it is doubtful whether they have the sort of belief in themselves to pull off such a feat either.

It really is time that some cold hard reality was faced. Most supporters admire the way that Arsene Wenger has gone about building this team - developing players rather than just throwing money at the situation and getting them playing the game the right way. The truth is though that the players in this current squad simply are not good enough to win trophies year in and year out, regardless of how attractive they may be to watch at times.

It is always easy to look around after a painful defeat and pick holes in various individuals but, when the team has been so comprehensively beaten in a game that was very much a yardstick to measure progress by, it is impossible not to ask: with the exception of Cesc Fabregas, how many players in that team are really world-class? Arshavin shows flashes of brilliance but has only made cameo appearances so far this season. Song and Denilson as a midfield pairing are pale in comparison to Vieira and Petit. Theo Walcott again proved he looks to have the makings of being a decent hundred metres runner but not necessarily a footballer. Despite the innumerable number of chances he has had since joining the club, he looks little more than an average player – and a lightweight one at that - blessed with great speed. Nasri and Rosicky seem to be decent players when things are going well for the team but go missing when something needs to be pulled out the fire.

The defence have taken a lot of criticism over the past year and, again, there are obvious deficiencies in terms of their height and their inability to rack up a series of clean sheets. Defending, though, is a collective job. This is something that Arsene Wenger has tried to foster this season after deciding not to sign a defensive midfielder in the summer. Yesterday, Chelsea showed how it should be done. As soon as Arsenal won possession they were faced with ranks of blue shirts who had got themselves immediately behind the ball. There was just no way through for the Gunners and far too few options for them to exploit. Without Van Persie, they lacked a cutting edge. Without Nicklas Bendtner, there was no height in the attack. And, shame though it is, Eduardo’s injury has robbed him of crucial pace over five yards.

One game does not decide the outcome of a season and the culture of today’s game is that a couple of wins sees teams mooted as world-beaters but then a couple of defeats suddenly all adds up to a crisis but there was enough in yesterday’s match to show that this squad really still fall into the category of "the best of the rest" behind United and Chelsea - and they are even under pressure to retain that tag this season. Arsene Wenger has been given time and patience by both the Board and the season ticket holders to undertake his project of the past few years. That patience now seems to be wearing thin and the Frenchman really has to now seriously consider changing tack by bringing in some experienced professionals in January - and cutting loose some of the players who are just not up to the standard required.

Though the pressure is likely to mount on the manager in the next month, one suspects that the real intensity will come if and when Stan Kroenke takes a 30% shareholding and launches a takeover bid for the club. The current Board might be prepared to defer to Wenger on all playing matters but one suspects that the American, having invested millions in buying shares, is going to be far more demanding in terms of seeing silverware on the sideboard.

Before the visit of Stoke to Ashburton Grove next Saturday, the team travels to Manchester City on Wednesday for a fifth round Carling Cup clash. It seems likely that Wenger will field his usual combination of second-string players and youngsters for this tie. A win will lift everyone’s spirits but a defeat will only fan the embers of discontent and attract headlines talking of crisis at the club. After two defeats in two Premier League matches, this is now a very big game.

Whoever represents the club on Wednesday night, the team need to summon a performance that will restore some pride and confidence because both took one hell of a battering yesterday.