Ballack: 'Wenger is a bad loser'

Michael Ballack last night ridiculed Arsene Wenger for being a bad loser.

Wenger claimed Arsenal did not deserve to lose at Chelsea on Sunday because his team had more possession and played the better football.

But Ballack accused the Arsenal boss of always having “excuses" and insisted you do not win titles by playing “nice passes” and having a lot of possession.

The Chelsea midfielder said: “I think he (Wenger) always says this when he loses. When he loses he always finds an excuse. But football is not possession on the ball or playing nice passes.

“Good football is winning games and that’s what we do when we play against them. We deserved the win because we played very effectively.

“It was how we wanted to play before the game. It was our strategy. Maybe in the second half we concentrated a bit too much on defending but if you’re 2-0 up you can do this.

“For me, good football is a mix of winning, successful football, mental strength, good football technically and also physically. I think we have a good mix in the team and we have done this all season. We can’t do more - first in the table.”

Ballack also insisted that the top teams have figured out a way of beating Arsenal. Manchester United beat them last week and Chelsea have now done the double over the Gunners.

“We knew the way they would play. We saw it in the first game we played against them and in the way they played against Man United last week,” said Ballack.

“It is always the same style. If you get your tactics right like we did I think you can beat them. That’s what we did.”

Ballack’s comments are sure to rile football purist Wenger, who now finds his Arsenal team nine points behind the leaders.

The Gunners were 11 points behind Chelsea after losing to Carlo Ancelotti’s men back in November. But, despite clawing that deficit back, Wenger’s men now find themselves as rank outsiders once more in the title race.

Chelsea and Manchester United have pulled clear and Ballack insists the title is now a two-horse race and the German midfielder says they are determined to stop Sir Alex Ferguson making it a record four in a row.

Ballack said: “It looks like a two horse race. It’s a race between Man United and us. But as I said a few weeks ago it can go quickly that somebody drops points. But at the moment it looks like it’s down to the two of us.

“It wasn’t an easy situation before the Arsenal game. When we looked at the table we knew we had to win and we’ve done that.

“We showed that we deserved to stay in first position at this moment. After the draw at Hull we are very pleased to hit back like we did against Arsenal.”

Ballack also paid tribute to in-form striker Didier Drogba whose double beat Arsenal and made it 12 goals in ten starts against the Gunners.

It is also becoming a two-way shoot-out between Drogba and Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney as to who will win the title for the team - and be crowned Player of the Year.

Drogba has hit 22 goals this season while Rooney has managed 24 and they are both almost single-handedly firing their teams towards glory.

Ballack believes Drogba is a big game player for Chelsea and says his physical power can make him unstoppable.

Ballack added: “He is such an important player for us. In big games he is always there. That’s why he is such a big player.

“We have a lot of big game players and big characters at Chelsea. That is why we are a good team and it’s really great to be part of this club.

“Everybody fights for everybody, there is good spirit and good experience in the group. We’ve had a few years together and there is a lot of personal quality among the players.

“Even if we don’t play a fantastic game we have a few players who can decide a game with one action.

“Drogba is a very individual type. The way he plays he’s a different type compared to Rooney or Arshavin. He has unbelievable physical strength combined with technical finishing.

“The first goal [against Arsenal] he was there where the ball was. He has a striker’s nose.

"He has a lot of qualities and not a lot of players have this. It is much better to playing with him than against him.”