The game against Chelsea was never going to be an easy one for Arsenal, especially after the built up history along with the thrashing the Gunners took from them last year still fresh in the mind. It was imperative they didn't repeat that this time round.

They actually had the better first-half; they were more defensive than the team had been in weeks and they worked well to dispel Chelsea's efforts, even Flamini was effective in defensive role for most of that half. But this went to pot after the first goal and Wenger's men started to lose that defensive shape and concede passes, there was also a lack of running for the ball and individual errors that led to both goals being conceded.

However, with Chelsea's defence, there was no way in. Their defenders were never exposed like Arsenal's were because they worked hard in the midfield to make sure this didn't happen. Not only did you have to fight Chelsea's attack and midfield to go forward, their defence was prepared at every level. There were hardly any one-on-one challenges between the attack and defence because the North London outfit couldn't get that far up the pitch, every layer they broke through there were more Chelsea shirts organised and ready for Welbeck and co.

The Blues hustled them from beginning to end and it broke up Arsene's costless flowing football mentality, you can't pass a ball 30 odd times to get a goal against Chelsea or any of the 'big teams' because they will close you down. Furthermore, the XI didn't have enough pace in the midfield to keep a continual flow of passes and their attacks were slowed down by interceptions too often on Sunday afternoon.

Maintaining consistency throughout a game is something the FA Cup holders struggle with, whether it's lack of stamina or strength it is becoming an issue that needs to be addressed. The fans can't help but feel it has to do with the incessant amounts of passes that Arsene wants his team to complete and it really slows the play down, if they ran with the ball more instead and completed longer passes it would speed up the attack.

Another thing that affects the pace of the game, and both teams are guilty of this, is the niggling fouls such as shirt pulling and pushing that aren't serious enough for bookings. They slow down the game and this works to Chelsea's advantage because it slows down the opposition's momentum a lot more than theirs.

Wenger's tactics for the midfield are outdated, he is still obsessed with his triangle formation and zonal marking. Yesterday he had Flamini, Wilshere and Cazorla forming triangles in the middle which forced Chelsea to go wide. Therefore, Ozil couldn't cope with the pressure because he doesn't naturally suit this role for anyone. If Arsenal had a more costless flowing formula in midfield it would more solid throughout the middle and flanks.

Wenger just doesn't know how to get the team to attack and go forward against a team who had a midfield that are strong in closing the opposition down. Costa had one shot all game and he took that shot and scored, but the Gunners couldn't even get a shot on target.

He needs to just accept that 504 passes and most of the possession is not something that works against the big teams. The Emirates faithful want long range shots, less passes, more direction and a more confident approach otherwise Arsene Wenger will continue fail to win against the big teams.