Chelsea's Didier Drogba refuses to gloat after beating Arsenal

Didier Drogba spurned the opportunities to gloat and instead maintained there is still work to do.

Indeed, as the questions came thick and fast in the post-match interviews, Drogba showed as much speed of thought off the pitch as he did on it to avoid rubbing Arsenal's noses in  it.

Arsene Wenger had damned him with faint praise, refusing to appreciate Drogba's devastating all-round contribution and using stats to get us to disbelieve the evidence of our own eyes.

But Drogba had no need to have a dig. The last manager to get stuck into him was Rafa Benitez two seasons ago. Drogba responded by with a virtuoso display in the semi-final to knock Liverpool out.

And with 14 goals so far this season in League and Cup, the Ivory Coast striker continues to let his feet do the talking.

He has now scored 10 times in nine games against the Gunners. But, asked whether he felt Wenger's men now have nightmares about him, he insisted: "No, no. I only scored one goal from a cross. The other one was a free-kick which is different and the second goal was an own-goal. We can't say they suffered against me."

Asked again if he felt that his stunning record will strike fear into the hearts of the Arsenal players - as it should - the next they meet, Drogba was equally modest, preferring to point to the strengths of his team rather than his own individual contribution.

He added: "No, no. No, no, no, because they play their game. But I think we were strong. We were stronger than them. That's the only thing I can say, we were stronger than them on Sunday.

"Every time we had the chance to score we did it. We took our chances and I think physically and mentally we defended well. We were really strong."

Then, however, came the stark analysis to shatter any notions Gunners fans of redressing the balance at Stamford Bridge when the two teams meet again on February 6.

Drogba went on: "I don't know about Arsenal. But our strength is that we are able to switch it on when it matters.

"Even against Manchester (when Chelsea won 1-0 earlier this month) even though the game was really difficult we won it.

"We know how to go through difficult periods, difficult times. When the game is hard. That's why we know that when you get a chance it's important to score."

Without Robin van Persie, sidelined now for the next five months, Arsenal have failed to score in two matches. Eduardo's confidence looks to have gone while Andriy Arshavin appears to be still suffering from Russia's World Cup play-off exit to Slovenia.

Compare that to Drogba's suspension from the Champions League, during which Nicolas Anelka and the rest of the team held the fort superbly.

And yet, despite qualification for the knockout stages being assured, despite the fact that they are up against an entirely beatable Blackburn side in the Carling Cup quarter finals - and despite Chelsea  being 11 points clear at the top of the Premier League, Drogba is still refusing to rest on his laurels.

He went on: "It's not enough. It's a good gap but we have to keep winning our games."