Chelsea 2 Arsenal 0: Terry helps lead Chelsea back to table's summit

Terry, stripped of the England captaincy by England manager Fabio Capello on Friday after a week of lurid headlines about his private life, produced a typically inspirational performance that won more plaudits from his club boss.

"John is the perfect captain for Chelsea," said Ancelotti. "My captain has a fantastic attitude. He is doing very well in every game. It is very important for the team to have this leadership. He was always in control of the game. He has a strong mentality.

"He is working for his club and we are happy to have this performance from him in this moment.

"The England captaincy was not my decision and I do not want to judge about this decision. I knew John met Capello but I did not meet with (Terry) afterwards."

Ancelotti refused to rule Arsenal out of the title race even though the Gunners are now nine points behind the leaders after this Stamford Bridge defeat.

"Arsenal still have a possibility because they are a good team," added the Italian.

"It depends on the performances of Manchester United and Chelsea. I am not sure it will be a race with two horses."

Drogba has now scored three goals in two games since he returned from the African Nations Cup; his brace took his tally for the season to 22 and 12 in 12 against the Gunners.

Although Arsenal had more of the possession than Chelsea, Drogba's eighth-minute opener settled Chelsea's nerves and his second in the 22nd minute ultimately sealed victory.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger credited Chelsea with a fine defensive display and admitted he was impressed by the way Terry had managed to shrug off his personal problems.

"I believe John Terry wants to win when he plays football and sometimes for people, to play football can be a diversion to what is happening off the field," said Wenger. "I had some players who, when they had private problems, were even stronger on the pitch because it was a place where they could get out of it.

"You have to congratulate Chelsea. We did not get a demonstration of football but they were efficient and that is what made the difference.

"The first goal contributed to our defeat but apart from that we had great spirit and attitude. We could not get back to 2-1 and get them really wobbling.

"We had mountains of possession but could not transform it into goals."