Stunning

Newcastle's 2-1 win over Chelsea on Sunday afternoon may have effectively won the title for Arsenal, but amidst all the hyperbole and praise lavished on the Gunners two things were overlooked: firstly, we didn't win for their sake, but for our own, and secondly, it was arguably our best team performance of the season.

Quite how Chelsea would respond after the Monaco debacle was anybody's guess, but just five minutes in, the signs looked ominous. Joe Cole waltzed untracked into our penalty area, narrowly evading Woodgate's last-ditch tackle and slipped the ball under Given. With Makelele was patrolling midfield with apparent ease, and Cole looking dangerous every time he drifted in from the left, we could have been forgiven for fearing another 5-0 humiliation, this time on our own patch.

Thankfully, though, our supposedly understrength side refused to be intimidated by the stature of the opposition players and, as we gradually began to impose ourselves on the game, the chances started to flow. Though Cole missed another very presentable opportunity at the other end, we wrested the attacking impetus from Chelsea and when Ambrose hit a screaming 30 yard drive it looked for a moment as though we'd have a sensational equaliser to celebrate, until his near-namesake Ambrosio in the Chelsea goal brilliantly tipped over. When the equaliser did come a minute before half time, though, it was hardly a scrappy effort. Ameobi, on the edge of the area with his back to goal, controlled Viana's long pass, then swivelled and fired a firm shot into the bottom left corner of the net. It was no more than we deserved - and things were to get even better after the break.

Four second half minutes had passed when Marcel Desailly, outwitted by Ameobi for the first goal, allowed Shearer to turn inside. The skipper never needs an invitation to shoot, but when presented with one on a plate he was only too happy to accept, smashing a 25 yard swerving thunderbolt beyond a shellshocked Ambrosio. A wonderful goal from a wonderful player - at the age of 33, it speaks volumes about Shearer that only Thierry Henry has scored more goals this season.

From that point onwards it was hard to believe quite what we were witnessing. Given brilliantly clawed away a header from Eidur Gudjohnsen, but otherwise the Icelandic international and his much-vaunted strike partner Hernan Crespo were subdued by towering performances from Woodgate and O'Brien at the heart of the defence. By contrast, Desailly and John Terry looked were ragged, rattled by the physical presence and effort of Shearer and Ameobi. Meanwhile Ambrose, enjoying his best outing in a Newcastle shirt, was terrorising the normally composed Wayne Bridge at every opportunity down the right, and Viana, always at the centre of things, outshone Frank Lampard. We continued to carve out chance upon chance with the sort of incisive and inventive attacking play that's been missing for some time, and though we deserved another goal, our failure to score a decisive third nearly proved costly in the closing stages, as a desperate Chelsea went close on a couple of occasions before Terry struck the post with a close-range shot three minutes into stoppage time. An equaliser for Ranieri's side would have been unbearably harsh, though - aside from the first ten or fifteen minutes, they were outfought, outthought and outplayed all over the park.

There was, however, one major fly in the ointment. Woodgate limped off late on, and it looks as though he may be out for the rest of the season. Not only is this very bad news given his outstanding form recently and his steadying influence on his fellow defenders, but it also comes on top of the loss of O'Brien through suspension for the games against Wolves and Southampton. Sir Bobby's unlikely to recall Steve Caldwell from Leeds, which means we're going to be stretched, and after only one senior start away to Bolton Steven Taylor could find himself playing in the club's most vital games of the season.

The result keeps us level with Liverpool, with the same goal difference and a game in hand. We could have hoped, though, that Man Utd might have denied them the three points at Old Trafford. Similarly, ten man Villa's flukey last minute win away to Middlesbrough on Saturday did us no favours whatsoever. It's beginning to look like a three horse race, with Charlton and Birmingham slowly slipping out of the reckoning for fourth place - but we?ve all been so inconsistent that nothing is certain. At least this result and performance should give us the confidence to believe that, despite all the dropped points away from home, we're still good enough to steal it.

Much as I dislike Chelsea, it will be a shame if this result contributes to Ranieri's dismissal - for my money he's done a tremendous job under extreme and unfair pressure. He made some tactical errors in the Monaco game, but otherwise I think he's proved himself to be very astute. If he does go in the summer, as now seems certain, I only hope that his replacement fails to deliver the goods so that Abramovich can be made to realise that success just doesn't come that quickly.

A final word about Arsenal: worthy champions not least because, for the neutral, they're so exciting to watch. Now that we've played them twice, I can say I'd like to see them go the whole season unbeaten - they deserve something more than just the title.