The fourth minute.
Chelsea left-back Ashley Cole pushed forward. After receiving Mikel's pass, he sent in a first-time cross toward Drogba in the penalty area.
Drogba leaped high and outmuscled Varane to get his head to the ball.
Luckily, Fabianski reacted in time and got a fingertip to it, deflecting the ball off its path and past the post.
Chelsea won the match's first corner just four minutes after kickoff.
Drogba glanced at the youngster he had just bullied, spat, and taunted him:
"Kid, you're way too weak!"
"With a body like that, you think you can play center back?"
"Arsenal must really be short on players!"
Varane didn't respond to Drogba's taunts.
He knew that, in football, the game itself did the talking!
No matter what he said, it wouldn't be as effective as beating him to a header right in front of him!
Ashley Cole took the corner, and Drogba in the box was getting ready to leap.
But Varane grabbed him hard by the side, stopping him from getting a proper jump. Drogba came crashing back down and could only watch the ball sail over his head.
"Hey! He's pulling me in the box! That's a foul, ref! You should give us a penalty!" Drogba protested, furious at the referee's refusal to act.
But the referee ignored him. A bit of pushing and grabbing in the box during a corner was perfectly normal.
As long as it wasn't too blatant or excessive, referees usually let it go.
"Shit!!! The Premier League's blind dog of a referee is no different from that blind bastard Hening. What can he do besides protect the other team?"
After spitting, Drogba glared at Varane, a fierce look spreading across his face.
Varane didn't back down. He stared Drogba down for several seconds,