The result last night was probably one of the least predictable of the entire Premier League season so far.

With the last Arsenal victory over Chelsea coming over two years ago, who would have thought that the victory would have been so comprehensive and the performance so dominant?

Times have changed since Robin Van Persie single-handedly overturned that single goal deficit at Stamford Bridge in 2008. The squad Chelsea brought to the Emirates Stadium last night was almost entirely devoid of confidence, and there was a clear lack of strength in depth on the bench to compound their troubles.

The withdrawal of Florent Malouda to be replaced by frightfully young and inexperienced Gael Kakuta spoke volumes about how there appears to be a role reversal occurring in London. That said, the Chelsea first eleven still had proven quality in abundance, but every Arsenal player pressed and harried all over the pitch, and deservedly came out on top as a result.

There is a common school of thought that Arsenal are not mentally strong enough to win the league, but it is almost certainly untrue. This display encapsulated the unquenchable thirst the current team have to claim the Premier League trophy. All great team performances have their roots in a strong tactical game – Wenger’s decision to deploy Johan Djourou as Laurent Koscielny’s partner at the heart of the defence paid off to a huge extent. So often the scourge of Arsenal, Didier Drogba barely had a kick all evening, as a consequence of the Swiss’ impeccable display.

However, once Wenger’s work was done, the team still needed to turn in one of the displays of the season on the field. For all Chelsea’s woes in recent weeks, Arsenal still had to demonstrate a high level of togetherness and finishing quality to overcome the dangers they presented. No better example of the strong mentality that embodied the team on last night was the reaction after Branislav Ivanovich’s consolation goal. There was no panic in the ranks – the side just rallied once more, and saw out the game comfortably.

Even though Arsenal claimed a monumental victory against one of their title rivals, its still only three points. For Arsenal to have a satisfactory Christmas period, it is vital for them to conquer Wigan Athletic and Birmingham City in the days to come. From the corresponding fixtures last season, Arsenal picked up merely one point from six, which is not title form by any means. With Manchester United picking up form at a fair rate of knots, there is very little room for error anymore.

Arsenal will go into these next two fixtures with great confidence though. There is no better way to prepare for a difficult two games away from home than to beat a title-rival comprehensively at home. However, whether Arsenal can convert their confidence into results is yet to be seen. One thing confidence can do is alleviate the symptoms of tiredness, and that will be essential as the mentally and physically draining Christmas period enforces its grip.