Chelsea's golden child Gaël Kakuta ready to emerge from his gilded cage

Arsenal were not the only young pretenders who must have found Chelsea's weekend demolition a little intimidating. For a batch of teenagers tutored in Cobham who are eager to bash down the dressing-room door at Stamford Bridge, the exploits of the senior team must leave them simultaneously inspired and daunted. Part of them must surely wonder how on earth they usurp a Didier Drogba, Michael Essien or John Terry.

Any Chelsea youngster knows the hurdles at their club are distinctly high. Of the selection that steamrollered all over the pitch at Emirates Stadium, only one was under the age of 25. Even the two substitutes who came on were weighted with experience, in the 32-year-old Deco and the 29-year-old Florent Malouda.