Zola bends in his 42-yard goal. (BenRadford/GettyImages)

After all, it was the grey bearded one who declared his side would claim the title of London's football kings as they made their rise up the Premiership in the late 1990s. But the reality that stared him in the face on this Sunday afternoon was that Chelsea have merely become one of many who have tried and failed to match the Old Trafford money making machine.

No one has ever had a decent look at the Chelsea books - Bates wouldn't allow such scrutiny of the club who went from a selling club to a buying version overnight - so it is hard to say just how much financial trouble they are in, but those in the know suspect their predicament is not good.

And while Arsenal reign as Premiership champions and even Spurs have more financial clout than Chelsea these days, Mr Chairman still sits in the penthouse suite of the Bates Motel that virtually overlooks the Stamford Bridge pitch believing his time will come.

However, he may have a long wait. After no serious summer signings, their attempts to raise cash by selling off striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink to Barcelona before yesterdays transfer deadline showed that Chelsea are now a selling club once again.

And that means the club who have not won a trophy since Bates sacked Gianluca Vialli in 2000 are left to lap up rare moments of success instead of the consistent glory they crave.

Against an Arsenal side without the likes of Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg and Thierry Henry, they would never have a better chance of avenging their FA Cup Final defeat against the Gunners in Cardiff last May, but they were simply not good enough to do that.

May I take the liberty of stating that Bates' bid to mould this club into cockney Red Devils has failed. Though he is too proud and arrogant to admit as much, his Chelsea dream is dying and all he is left with his cheap jibes for the rivals who have built their clubs on sounder financial platforms.

Only this week he labelled Tottenham as 'annoying' and 'ridiculous' as they made an aborted attempt to sign striker Eidur Gudjohnsen.

And today, he used his self-congratulatory programme notes to welcome Arsenal while questioning how many cards referee Andy D'Urso would show their players will be shown in this game.

All good fun, you could say, but the painful reality for Mr Bates was that even when his suggestion the Gunners may not end this game with eleven players proved to be true, his highly paid squad were unable to keep them at bay.

After dropping Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink following his woeful first half display at Southampton on Wednesday, Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri made sure he proved who was boss. Now that is something that is often in doubt when Mr Bates is around. Yet the gasp around Stamford Bridge as the team was read out suggested more than a few Blues fans were not sure the right decision had been made.

As Ranieri's men moved into a first half lead, it seemed the boss had got it just right. After Patrick Vieira gave away a free kick for a foul on Zola, the Arsenal skipper received what would prove to be a significant yellow card before his victim hauled himself off the floor to whip a 25 yard free kick straight past David Seaman 11 minutes before the break.

Arsenal's mission became even more improbable when captain Vieira was unfortunate to be sent off after an innocuous challenge on Jesper Gronkjaer four minutes into the second half.

However, instead of turning up the gas, Chelsea merely moved into the back seat of their posh cars and went into cruise mode. That gave Arsenal all the encouragement they needed the equaliser duly arrived after 59 minutes as substitute Kolo Toure headed home after Sylvain Wiltord's header was only parried by Carlo Cudicini.

Yet again, it gave Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger the chance to speak about his favourite commodity in life, 'spirit' and not the variety his former captain Tony Adams used to be fond of. 'We have a real commitment that is there more than other teams,' he stated. 'To be 1-0 down with ten men and come back shows there is a great spirit here.'

It was inevitable that the press pack, foaming at the mouth at the chance to pick holes in another red card controversy of a top player, then waded in with their questions on Vieira. But Wenger, who remarkably saw this incident for once, had a quick response. 'The referee has said he will look at the situation and maybe he'll change his mind,' he said.

'Both the yellow cards were harsh, but I don't like to stand here and say the referee was wrong. We accept the decisions and do what is required in the game, but now we hope that Patrick will not be banned because he doesn't deserve that.'

Claudio Ranieri then came into the press room to sprinkle his words of wisdom, if that is what they can be described as. The talk quickly turned to his decision to drop Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. 'I said to Jimmy it was a nice day to have some time off and he understood,' he said in that curious squeaky Italian/English.

'There is no problem with Jimmy, he will be back in the team soon and doing well for Chelsea.'

And of his side's failure to hang on to three points against a injury hit ten man side? 'We are disappointed, but this is not the end of the world. A draw against Arsenal, well that is a good result for some teams. We wanted to win, but we didn't.'

Profound assessment, don't you think? And if he is happy with a 1-1 draw in a game his side should have taken control of, then Ranieri is as half hearted as most of his players who are going missing all too often when the pressure is applied.

The difference with Arsenal's foreign stars compared to their Chelsea counterparts could not have been highlighted more harshly. While one squad has the desire and passion to challenge for the title, the other seems willing to settle for less. One is in easy street, while Arsenal don't know where that is.

If only those whose wages have put this club in the financial mire shared the ambition of one Kenneth Bates esq. Arsenal chief executive David Dein and the players he employs certainly do and while one London club has missed the boat, another has sailed past them and out of sight.

QUOTE OF THE DAY - Kolo Toure. 'Arsene Wenger told me to go on and enjoy my day, enjoy my foot.'

PRESS BOX VIEW - Not the best, as ever at Stamford Bridge. How tragic that the media men are restricted from seeing Mr Bates' lovely new stadium as we are thrown into a hole on the bottom tier of the oldest stand in the stadium.

CHANT OF THE MATCH - Chelsea fans launched a huge cry of 'who are you' when Kolo Toure made his appearance to replace the injured Edu on 31 minutes. After his equalising goal half an hour later, the joke was on the Stamford Bridge faithful.

MAN OF THE MATCH - Kolo Toure. The Ivory Coast international scored a fine poachers goal and contributed to Arsenal's rousing second half display after the dismissal of captain Patrick Vieira.

MOAN OF THE MATCH - If these two sides are amongst the best in the Premiership, then I'm off to cover La Liga next week. This was a major anti-climax on a day when the birth of David Beckham's second son was more notable.

INSIDER QUESTION - Will Chelsea's army of over paid, ageing footballers ever start to earn their wages on a consistent basis?

INJURY NEWS - Edu added to Arsene Wenger's mounting injury list as he limped off in the 31st minute. Freddie Ljungberg may be back for Arsenal's next game in 10 days time.