Champions LeagueChelsea may be clutching at straws when they seek a place in the last four of the Champions League at Highbury, but at least they have a strong grip.
No other English team holds on to their form in away games quite as Claudio Ranieri's men do. The hangdog look at the end of the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final should be replaced by purposeful expressions when the return match starts on April 6th.
It is natural and even sensible to assume that Chelsea will be knocked out, but the general principles of European football cannot be taken for granted. The absolute dominance of the home team is no certainty. Ranieri's side frequently get edgy at Stamford Bridge and are much more at ease when allowed to roam.
It is their custom to travel with rigour and it is journeys in the Premiership that have put them on course to finish above Manchester United. Only Arsenal can equal their record of 35 points from 15 away matches in that competition.
Perhaps Chelsea ought to feel apologetic about so curmudgeonly a form of excellence. The dependence on the back four has even counted against Ranieri and ensured he will be sacked by a club that wants a far merrier image for its money. That dourness, all the same, is unintentional.
It was supposed to be forestalled in an abundance of ways. Consider Hernan Crespo. "He is different to players such as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Thierry (Henry), but I believe he will have the same impact," said Ranieri of the £16.8 million signing. That claim may sound overblown, but it cannot really be judged properly at all because the Argentinian brought with him from Italy the muscle strains that had bedevilled him for a year or two.
The outlook for Chelsea would also have been brighter if injuries to shoulder and ankle had not intruded on Damien Duff's season. Ranieri, too, could reasonably have expected that Joe Cole would flourish rather than fade after the move from West Ham. The manager is entitled to be peeved as well that Adrian Mutu seldom uses his skill to break out of the periphery of the action.
No wonder Ranieri has to lean on a solid defence and a line-up that, in general, deals in durability. Chelsea were spiky on Wednesday, with Claude Makelele doing important defending in advanced positions that stopped Arsenal from getting into their stride, but Ranieri's team still could not win even after Jens Lehmann's error had let Eidur Gudjohnsen put them ahead.
Arsenal may have an additional level of quality that eases them away from Chelsea in the second leg. Much will depend on how they deal with the attrition of meeting their Old Trafford rivals, in Premiership and FA Cup, before then.
"It could be difficult for them to play Manchester United twice," Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard said. "They are very fit but we have to hope United will take a lot out of them.
"In the second leg we have to do the same again: harry them all over the pitch and create chances."
This is a team that was able to soar to a 4-0 win over Lazio and creep to a 1-0 victory in Stuttgart.
Arsenal could prevail since they are better than any side Chelsea have so far faced, but Lampard and the others must at least make them prove it.
