LONDON, Dec 11 - Any faint hopes Chelsea may have had of another comfortable run to the Premier League title look well and truly scuppered by their 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

By December 12 in 2005, a buoyant Chelsea were 12 points clear at the top after a playing a game more and bookmakers had paid out three months earlier on bets they would retain the club's first title for 50 years.

Today, Jose Mourinho's men are eight points behind leaders Manchester United, albeit with a game in hand, and locked in what promises to be a protracted dogfight with Alex Ferguson's side.

The role reversal, which also raises the stakes for Wednesday's home game with Newcastle United, is all the more of a surprise as Chelsea were typically lavish in their close-season spending.

Whether in fees, such as the 30 million pounds paid to AC Milan for Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko, or in wages, with the reported 125,000 pounds a week earned by Germany midfielder Michael Ballack, Chelsea proved once again they are without equal.

Add the arrival of promising young Nigeria midfielder John Obi Mikel, prised away from a planned move to United, and Chelsea had made English football's best squad even stronger.

Yet things have not quite gone to plan for the club owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich.

Mikel has been consigned to the remote fringes of the first team, while the other two are still adapting to the rough and tumble of the English game. The apprenticeship is proving a particularly painful one for Shevchenko.

CHELSEA'S RHYTHM

In terms of results, Chelsea are not quite matching the irrepressible rhythm of a year ago.

Last season, they won 14 of their first 16 games. Sunday's draw with Arsenal left them with 11 wins from the same number of games and they have also scored nine fewer league goals than last time.

More importantly, Chelsea have been powerless to prevent the improvement at United.

With much the same squad, but with better form from forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha, plus tighter defending with Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra, United are now winning matches they were only drawing before.

Ferguson said after last week's impressive 3-1 Champions League victory over Benfica that his younger players had gained in maturity and experience -- and it certainly shows in the statistics.

United won 10 of their opening 16 games last season -- this time they have won 13 of them, conceding only eight goals along the way instead of 14 last time.

For Arsenal, Sunday's draw left only mathematicians and their most blinkered fans believing they can bridge the 18-point gap on United, despite their game in hand.

For all their entertaining football, Arsenal's domestic plans now revolve around cups and earning a Champions League place. That fate is shared by Liverpool, who coincidentally are Arsenal's opponents in both League and FA cup ties.

This season's Premier League title race is already a two-horse affair. It may not be the ultimate in terms of cut-throat competition, but many will prefer it to another procession from west London.