Ancelotti needs to rid Chelsea of their Blues

A shocked Carlo Ancelotti admitted his Chelsea side are still "sleeping" as their nightmarish mid-season slump deepened with a 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, and the Italian conceded he must be the first to "wake up" if their title challenge is to be revived.

Chelsea, five points clear towards the end of October, trail the Premier League leaders, Manchester United, by six points ahead of today's game against Bolton Wanderers.

Roman Abramovich, Chelsea's owner, was absent as Arsenal stretched their rivals' miserable sequence to one win in eight matches but an immediate improvement is required if the focus is to be drawn from Ancelotti's position.

The Italian accepted responsibility for this latest defeat inflicted by goals from Alex Song, Cesc Fbregas and Theo Walcott, with Branislav Ivanovic replying for Chelsea, but was particularly shaken by his side's sloppiness after having seen improvement in the draw at Spurs, their last game, a fortnight ago.

"I didn't expect this," he said. "I was surprised by this performance. I'd seen some very good training sessions this week, so I did not expect this. We have to wake up. Until now we've been sleeping. But maybe I have to be the first to wake up.

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"I'm worried, obviously, because that's six [league] games we've not been able to win. I didn't see the team playing the way we want and we had difficulty playing our football.

"It's obvious we don't have the confidence to play our style at the moment. But when you are sleeping, it's important you wake up quickly. It's difficult to answer [whether Chelsea can still win the title]. We've lost a lot of points and our position, but I have confidence."

Abramovich chose to terminate Luiz Felipe Scolari's tenure at Stamford Bridge when it appeared Chelsea might surrender their position in the top four - they were fourth and seven points from the summit at the time - and, with it, entry into the lucrative Champions League. Yet this was already the Londoners' worst league run since 1999. Although Ancelotti believes he still benefits from the oligarch's backing, the prospect of slipping to sixth should Bolton beat them puts the manager's predicament in grim context.

Asked how long he thought the club's owner would remain both patient and supportive, Ancelotti said: "I don't know. Obviously he won't be happy at this moment. I will take my responsibility, but this is a question you have to ask him, not me.

"We have to do better. It's not usual that Chelsea cannot win for six or seven games. But everyone said I did a fantastic job last year, and now people are saying other things. The table is not good, but this is the reality. We have to do better. I'm not worried. I have to work."