Modric: The Missing Piece in Chelsea's Champions League Jigsaw?

For an expereince Chelsea side with an inexperienced manager at the helm, the Champions League remains top priority. In the Premiership, Drogba, Terry, Lampard and co have tasted success. But their hunger for European glory grows as their careers wind down. Terry in particular must surely be haunted by his penalty miss in the 2008 final's shootout against Manchester United.

There is a real sense now that it will be difficult for any club to challenge Barcelona's European dominance, but we should not forget that in 2009, Chelsea were seconds from beating them. If their power has always troubled Barca, it has been a lack of guile that has left them short against Inter in 2010, United in 2011, even as far back as Liverpool in 2005 and 2007.

Since the days of Mourinho, Chelsea have never operated with a central orchestrator- someone like Deco in Mourinho's Porto, or Sneijder in his Inter Milan. Lampard has played for years in a similar position, but in a very different style. While his consistent performances and impressive goalscoring feats have proven invaluable to Chelsea over the years, he has never looked like conjuring a creative piece of magic in a tight European game. And his central role in the team has left no room for a playmaker to flourish.

Lampard is now 33 and ought to be moving towards the end of a fine career. He showed signs of decline last season and these facts suggest that Chelsea's pursuit of Luka Modric is very much warranted. With Lampard on the way out, Chelsea have the opportunity to build their midfield around a different kind of player, one who will not score half as many goals but who could potentially revolutionise their often insipid style and, vitally, make chances for Torres.

If Torres recaptures his best form, and nudges Drogba aside, and Modric arrives and does the same to Lampard, it should freshen up Chelsea's style. And it could also make them a real threat in Europe.

A 3 Horse Race?

Chelsea's hard-fought victory against a bus-parking Manchester City leaves them six points adrift, and with a visit to Old Trafford to come, a winning run between now and the end of the season would most likely secure them what seemed an unlikely victory in the title race.

Looking at the top three, Chelsea are probably the most likely to put an impressive run together, on paper. On balance, their starting line up at the moment seems stronger than either Arsenal's or United's. And they can be a truly formidable team when momentum is on their side.

I don't think they will win the league for a few reasons. Their squad is not as deep as they would like. Too many of their best players- Drogba, Lampard, Essien, Malouda, Torres- are having below-par seasons. And I think their players will prioritise the competition in which their manager is a specialist. That Chelsea side has endured some painful moments in the Champions League. That is the trophy they want and I think their league performances will come to reflect that.

They have had impressive home results of late against the two Manchester teams. But United are having a wretched season away from home, and City showed no ambition. I don't think Chelsea were anything close to their best in winning those games and as the tension rises in the last few games, they will need to play consistently well to make up the gap on United. If some of the aforementioned players regained their best form, it would be possible, but I still see United as strong favourites.

For the rest of this season, and all of the next, it will be fascinating to see whether Torres can find the class that seems to have deserted him. Chelsea may see the summer as an opportune moment to discard Drogba, an elemental player who is now showing genuine signs of decline. If Torres were Drogba's age, we would certainly be saying that he's past it. Maybe injuries have caught up with the Spaniard- consider how young Michael Owen was when he peaked- about ten years ago!

Chelsea may find themselves regretting what was an expensive transfer. The time was probably right to look to replace Drogba, but did they get the right man?

will the big-game hoodoo continue?

Chelsea have been in rotten form of late but seem to love playing against Arsenal.

Their last two visits to the Emirates have both yielded victories of a three goal margin.

They have Frank Lampard, who has been sorely missed, making his first start since his injury a few months back.

Fabregas returns too, but he's often been bullied out of games against Chelsea. And you could say that that's the problem in microcosm. Chelsea tend to have too much power and pace for Arsenal. It's almost like the ghost of Wenger's successful Arsenal sides is haunting the current bunch, in the form of a Chelsea team that have all of that old power and poise and character, and the trophies to match.

The tables have turned in a big way over the last five years or so. Pre-Abramovich, Chelsea went almost ten years without beating Arsenal in the league. Chelsea were the team who entertained at times, but too often looked a team of style without substance.

Now the upper hand is Chelsea's and Arsenal are the ones who crumble when the big matches roll around.

After meek defeat at Old Trafford a fortnight ago, it is undeniably crucial that Arsenal produce some kind of performance. But it remains difficult to back them because they continue to look naive tactically and lacking in the necessary mental fortitude.

At Old Trafford, there seemed at least a desire to keep things tight. But the toothless result of that shift in emphasis worryingly suggested that when Arsenal play in a more balanced manner, they lose a too much of their attacking threat. Overcommitting seems to be their style, but if they overcommit that will play into Chelsea's hands. And if they sit back a little and play with more caution, it may lead to a closer game, but also take away from Arsenal's ability to create chances.

And perhaps the greatest worry of all is that Drogba has made meat of far better Arsenal centre halves than Koscielny and Squillaci.