There was still all to play for as Ashley Cole's routine pass made its way towards Terry, but Chelsea's captain inexplicably tumbled. Nobody was within five yards of him, the pitch was true, the day was bright – and, with no rhyme or reason, his legs went from under him.
There could be no worse sight from his position, prone on the pitch, than that of Robin van Persie accelerating away. The Premier League's current master of scoring dispatched the chance with aplomb, skipping around Petr Cech to put Arsenal back in front and en route to a precious victory. Some might say Terry had bad luck, but others might say it was karma.
That is two defeats in a row for Chelsea. Two derbies, as well. At the end of the match, Arsenal massed at the away end to relish a triumph that caps their recovery and demonstrated how they are over their early season slump. Eight wins out of nine sees them on the kind of positive wave that makes Arsène Wenger's plea for trust ring a lot truer.
But it had all started so well for Chelsea and their man in the spotlight. In the 14th minute, they went in front thanks to clinical finishing. The move emanated from an excellent, searching crossfield pass from Terry's left foot. Juan Mata, who had been on Wenger's radar before joining Chelsea, created space on the right to outfox André Santos with customary trickery and swung in a cross for Frank Lampard to nod past Wojciech Szczesny.
Where a month ago this might have been the signal for an Arsenal collapse, they were not cowed. They kept going and equalised in the 36th minute when Aaron Ramsey threaded the ball to Gervinho, who squared for Van Persie to sidefoot the ball past Cech.
But lingering defensive vulnerabilities are never far away. Chelsea thought they were back in front when Ramires tapped in José Bosingwa's cross, but the goal was chalked off because he had drifted a fraction offside. Just before half-time there was no dispute as Terry made the most of a corner to poke a shot into the bottom corner. The reaction of the home crowd was to joyfully hail "one England captain".
Arsenal rallied again. They emerged from the break on the attack and the excellent Ramsey hooked a chance over the bar. In the 49th minute, Alex Song picked a gaping hole in Chelsea's back line and André Santos ran on to the ball and aimed his shot straight between Cech's legs.
A minute later and the action swung back down the other end. Cole advanced all alone in the inside-left position, Szczesny careered out of his area to meet him and performed a star jump in an attempt to put the full-back off. The Pole collided with Cole, but referee Andre Marriner deemed the infringement only worthy of a yellow card. To add to Chelsea's irritation, Szczesny tipped away Lampard's free kick.
Another sharp swing: Walcott ambled towards the thin blue line that now passed for Chelsea's defence. Four players were around the England winger, who skidded down to the turf then stumbled up and away towards goal. He curled the ball ferociously past Cech at the near post.
André Villas-Boas saw two of his substitutes play an important role in Mata's equaliser. Romelu Lukaku checked André Santos and Raul Meireles advanced to provide for the Spaniard, whose finish was emphatic.
Not as emphatic as Van Persie's coup de grâce, as the Dutchman concluded the game with a thumping drive to take the match ball home as well as the three points. That made for one happy captain.
Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 29 Oct 11
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