Petr Cech - 7: Produced a vital fingertip save from Toure as he continued from where he left off last season.

Paulo Ferreira - 8: The ever-reliable right-back nullified Henry's penchant for attacking down Arsenal's left.

William Gallas - 6: Playing in his preferred central defensive role as opposed to full-back and was steady.

John Terry - 8: Chelsea's captain led by example and was commanding and brave as he marshalled the defence.

Asier del Horno - 8: A cultured-looking player whose pass set up Drogba and he was also resolute at left-back.

Claude Makelele - 8: A major influence in keeping Arsenal at arm's length as he brilliantly protected his defence.

Frank Lampard - 7: More of a defensive performance than attacking and typically full of running.

Damien Duff - 7: Another whose attacking exploits were limited because of his defensive duties.

Eidur Gudjohnsen - 6: Not as creative as usual from his new-found midfield role. He struggled to have much influence on the game.

Arjen Robben - 7: The Dutch winger was not at his marauding best but came more into the match as Ashley Cole pushed forward and left him space.

Didier Drogba - 9: Lovely chest down and left-foot finish across goal for his first and showed his power and determination to grab a second.

Substitutes

Tiago (rep Gudjohnsen, 58) - 6: Brought on to protect lead and did so.

Hernan Crespo (rep Drogba, 58) - 6: Hard act to follow the two-goal hero and seemed just a little off the pace.

Shaun Wright-Phillips (rep Robben, 69) - 6: Had little influence as Arsenal dominated in trying to level.

Joe Cole (rep Duff, 74) - 6: His control let him down at far post in late Chelsea chance.

Geremi (replaced Lampard, 90): No time to have any impact.

Jens Lehmann - 6: Had little chance with either goal and had little to do other than pick the ball out of the net.

Lauren - 6: The right-back could not support the attack as much as he would have liked but a tough competitor.

Kolo Toure - 7: Steady at the back and even managed to steal into attack where a shot was excellently saved.

Philippe Senderos - 6: Found Drogba's power hard to deal with and allowed the Blues striker across him to score.

Ashley Cole - 7: Did well to keep Robben quiet but in doing so lost the potency of his attacking game.

Freddie Ljungberg - 7: His cross led to the goal and kept going to try and help the Gunners back into the match.

Cesc Fabregas - 7: Pounced on the chance to get Arsenal back into the game and was full of running in midfield.

Mathieu Flamini - 6: Struggled to come to terms with the Chelsea midfield and somewhat overrun at times.

Robert Pires - 6: Found it hard to find the time and space from both the left flank and central midfield to unhinge the steadfast defence of Chelsea.

Dennis Bergkamp - 6: The Dutchman was kept too quiet for his own liking and failed to influence the game with his vision and passing.

Thierry Henry - 7: He was easily Arsenal's biggest attacking threat but was continually repelled and became frustrated at his lack of impact.

Substitutes

Gilberto Silva - 7 (rep Pires, 45): Steady influence and rarely gave away possession or made a mistake.

Robin van Persie - 7 (rep Bergkamp, 45): Did not really have a chance but showed plenty of effort.

Aleksander Hleb - 6 (rep Flamini, 45): An anonymous figure as he struggled to come to terms with the game.

Jose Reyes - 6 (rep Ljungberg, 72): An attacking threat but could not find the trickery to open up Chelsea.