Arsene Wenger is not a man to take drastic action at the drop of a hat. A subtle variation in the amount of water sprinkled on the pitch prior to a match at Emirates Stadium is as close to radical change as the Frenchman usually gets.
But with the stench his side created by virtue of a wretched first-half performance at Anfield clogging up his Gallic nostrils, Wenger realised it was time to fire up the hair-drier and tell a few home truths.
Too many times in the past the ire that follows defeat has been directed at an inappropriate target. The Dutch FA, Didier Drogba and the fixture compilers have all been responsible this season for Arsenal's failure to hang onto Chelsea's coat tails, according to their manager.
Though the opening 45 minutes verged on inexcusablel, it was by no means an isolated instance of his side failing to compete physically against opposition set-up to expose the weaknesses that have been apparent in Wenger's fragile side ever since Patrick Vieira tucked away an FA Cup winning penalty.
Wenger would have been well within his rights to question whether his mollycoddled youngsters were fit to wear their shirts following gutless defeats at Fulham, Stoke and Manchester City last season.
Of course, he chose not to and suffered the consequences as his team tried to ballet dance their way to the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League, only to be chewed up and spat out by footballing giants who appreciate it takes more than performing triple saltos to win important matches.
Yesterday's half-time dressing down, however, may have represented a turning of the tide. In actual terms, a victory at Anfield these days is not the badge of honour it once was, but having rightly assessed that this season's champions won't have to live up to the heights hit by recent Premier League winners, Wenger knew this was an opportunity his side could ill afford to pass up.
That his verbal assault prompted a recovery within 15 minutes of the restart cannot be labelled the masterstoke many are claiming it to be on account of the helping hand they were given by the incompetent Glen Johnson.
Indeed, Wenger was merely reading a riot act that should have been delivered a long time ago to a group of players who give the impression they don't quite share their manager's conviction regarding their ability to mount a serious challenge to Manchester United and Chelsea.
We are never likely to learn just how how cutting Wenger's half-time oration was. How far it sank into the collective conscience of his squad wil, however, be revealed at Burnley on Wednesday.
Anything less than a repeat of the application they demonstrated in the second 45 minutes will suggest his words were forgotten by the time the team coach reversed out of the famous Shankly Gates.
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