The slump is over.

Arsenal beat a sluggish Chelsea 3-1 in the Premier League to boost its title hopes and gain a heckuva lot of confidence. The Gunners had lost five straight to Chelsea and, prior to Monday, couldn't buy a win against the big two of Chelsea and Manchester United.

Here are five things we learned from Monday's affair at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium.

Arsene's bold move paid off

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger made five changes to the side that lost to United on Dec. 13. While re-inserting the fit-again duo of Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie, Wenger raised a few eyebrows by picking Theo Walcott instead of slippery Russian Andrey Arshavin on the right wing. Sure, Arshavin blows hot and cold, but he's more skilled than Walcott, who tends to underachieve.

Yet Walcott was outstanding on Monday. He set the tone early by running at Chelsea left back Ashley Cole, and Cole had to be cautious after earning a yellow card in the first half for hauling down the speedster.

Walcott's finish for Arsenal's third goal, in the 53rd minute, was clinical, and he reacted quickly in setting up Fabregas two minutes earlier.

Wenger has another decision to make Wednesday. Does he rest Walcott against Wigan in a quick turnaround?

Arsenal can play defense

Leading up to the game, Wenger said his team needed to be solid defensively. Arsenal was far from perfect, although generally did much better. Wenger chose Swiss international Johan Djourou ahead of French veteran Sebastien Squillaci, and that move also paid off.

Djourou excelled, nullifying the dangerous Didier Drogba -- the same Drogba who had scored 13 goals in 13 games against Arsenal. In open play, central defensive partner Laurent Koscielny, much criticized this campaign, was solid. Koscielny, mind you, did blunder on Chelsea's goal, getting easily outmaneuvered by Serbian tank Branislav Ivanovic on a free kick.

Arsenal did a fine job of pressing Chelsea most everywhere on the pitch, as Walcott mentioned.

Chelsea needs to buy

Holding a five-point advantage at the end of October, Chelsea now trails United by six points. That's a crisis. The Blues need a spark, and bringing in a fresh face or two wouldn't hurt.

Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko, at Wolfsburg, is being linked with three English clubs, and one is Chelsea. Whether owner Roman Abramovich wants to get his checkbook out again is another matter.

Chelsea used to have depth at every position. Even taking into consideration injuries -- to defender Alex and striker Nicolas Anelka -- that's no longer the case. Four of Chelsea's seven substitutes against Arsenal were 20 years old or younger. There's plenty of young and old, though not much in the middle.

Fabregas makes all the difference

As fans saw last season when Arsenal took on Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal, a half-fit Fabregas is better than many players when fully healthy.

Arsenal's captain made his first league start in more than a month, returning from hamstring injuries, and showed his usual poise on the ball. Fabregas won't score an easier goal than his finish in the 51st.

French winger Samir Nasri, one of the EPL's best players this season, retained possession as well as Fabregas, and he almost scored yet another beauty on an audacious chip.

Chelsea's midfield trio of Frank Lampard, Michael Essien and Florent Malouda particularly disappointed. Essien, who usually raises his game against Arsenal, failed to make an impact and got bad luck on Arsenal's second goal. Malouda was caught napping on the third. Lampard could be excused, given that he recently came back from a groin injury and hadn't started since late August.

When your goalkeeper is your best player, that's bad news. Such was the case for Chelsea.

Petr Cech, who dipped a little after his first two impeccable seasons at Chelsea, was at his best Monday. He denied Nasri twice and had no chance on any of Arsenal's goals. His handling off corners and free kicks was flawless. Counterpart Lukasz Fabianski didn't have to do much.

In this case, Chelsea won't mind playing two games in three days, wanting to get this one out of its system. Unfortunately, surging Bolton awaits Wednesday.