Luiz Felipe Scolari launched a scathing attack on referee Mike Dean and his officials after Chelsea's 2-1 defeat against Arsenal on Sunday.

Scolari was furious that Robin van Persie wasn't given offside when he ran clear to score Arsenal's equalizer at Stamford Bridge.

That proved to be the turning point as van Persie scored again three minutes later to hand Chelsea only their second loss in the Premier League this season.

Chelsea struggled to build up any momentum for long periods but Blues boss Scolari claimed Dean and his linesmen played a key role in the defeat.

"Chelsea and the referee (were responsible for the defeat) because Arsenal scored the first goal one meter in front of our players and in the first half the same linesman gave (Salomon) Kalou offside when it was not," said the Blues boss.

"It is important to speak to the people about this. If we play and the referee gives two things against my team sometimes it is difficult to win.

"Ok I make mistakes but we needed a man to come to Stamford Bridge as a referee for both sides, not for one side."

For the third time this season, Chelsea were unable to beat one of their main title rivals at home.

After drawing with Manchester United and losing to Liverpool and now Arsenal, Scolari is becoming concerned with Chelsea's lack of cutting edge.

"It's our problem in the last three games. We score one goal but only have one or two good chances. We don't shoot in or outside the area. We don't build enough play," he said.

While Scolari was left to count the cost of a lackluster display, Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal's victory could give a vital boost to his players' morale after a rocky period.

Arsenal are now seven points behind Chelsea and Wenger said: "We are still not close enough but we can gain belief. We have beaten Man Utd and Chelsea. That shows we have potential.

"To come here and win is fantastic for the team. We had chances and they had very few. We had the quality and we were on top in the second half," Wenger said.

"We have fantastic character in this side. We have now to be humble and come back and work hard.

"We were 1-0 down and still won the game. There is no better test of character."

Van Persie, reportedly one of the players William Gallas was most unhappy about during his recent rant against his teammates, couldn't have picked a better moment to score his first goals in five matches.

But the Dutch striker insisted the team deserved all the credit. "It is not my day, it is the team's day. It was a big win," he said.

In the last 20 minutes we showed a lot of character and discipline so the whole squad deserve big compliments.

"Playing against Chelsea on their ground, when you go 1-0 down you know it is going to be really difficult. To come back says it all.

"If you win a game like that it gives you a lot of confidence and that is what we need at the moment."

(AFP via China Daily December 2, 2008)