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Chelsea midfielder
Michael Ballack has claimed
that Arsenal's predictability
was their own downfall during the Blues' Sunday 2-0 triumph at
Stamford Bridge.
Furthermore, Ballack was critical of Arsene Wenger. The
Frenchman paid tribute to his own side's ability to retain the
ball, however, Ballack believes Wenger is simply making excuses for
an inability to claim a positive result in west London.
Ballack told Times Online: "We wanted to do our job. We
knew the way Arsenal play. It is always the same style," the German
international said. "If you play tactics like we did, you can beat
them.
"This season and the season before they showed they weren't able
to win the league," he added, damningly.
Regarding the comments from Wenger, who said he had not
witnessed a demonstration of football from the victorious Chelsea,
Ballack stated: "[Wenger] always says things like this when he
loses to find an excuse but football is not possession of the ball
and playing a nice pass, football is about winning games and that
is what Manchester United showed when they played them and what we
did.
"We derived the win because we were very effective and that was
our strategy. Football is a mixture of winning games and good
football physically, but also technically.
"We have a good mix in the team as we have shown this season and
you can't do more. We are in first position and that counts."
Wenger refuses to discount his side from the title race, and
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, too, believes the crown will still be
contested between the sides currently occupying the top three
spots. Ballack, though, claims only Manchester United will
challenge the Blues for the league trophy.
"If you look now, it seems like a race between Manchester United
and us - but four weeks ago, you could see how it was [different]
and it can go quick when teams lose points."
