Chelsea’s hammering at Arsenal forced the change which has put Antonio Conte’s side among the title favourites

GETTING stuffed by Arsenal not only gave Antonio Conte’s team a kick up the backside.

A torrid first half at the Emirates which threatened to turn into a humiliation appears to have helped Chelsea become Premier League contenders.

Eight days after losing at home to Liverpool, Mesut Ozil scored a third goal before half-time on September 24 with a furious Conte storming down the tunnel.

In that second half, with Arsenal smelling blood and a battering on the cards, Conte switched his defence to a back three and the transformation has been spectacular.

Hull, Leicester, Manchester United and now Southampton have all found David Luiz and Co a far meaner and better organised defence than they could have imagined. It is now 410 minutes since Thibaut Courtois last conceded.

With all of Chelsea’s rivals capable of dropping points, this could be an even better title race than last season.

Eden Hazard and Diego Costa, who scored a goal each to down Saints, are back to scaring the life out of defenders in a similar way to two years ago when the club won the Prem title.

Conte claims Chelsea are a “long way away” from finishing top but he really is kidding no one.

Chelsea are now within one point of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool, having leapfrogged Spurs who they play on November 26.

They face Everton this Saturday tea-time and then head to Middlesbrough after the international break.

Yet it is Chelsea’s break during these European weeks which will prove to be vital, ensuring they are fresh for the second half of the season.

Arsenal fly to Sofia today for tomorrow’s Champions League game against Bulgarian side Ludogorets, Manchester City entertain Barcelona and Spurs face Bayer Leverkusen.

For Conte, it is a standard week.

No travelling. Just time to keep focus, remain sharp and to ensure the back three of Luiz, Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta can spend more time together to work on this system in training.

Conte using a back three — with excellent wing-backs Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso dropping back when the opposition has the ball — is not exactly a surprise.

Yet the Italian chose the right time to stamp his authority on the team and that moment was in North London when his new life in England was on the verge of going horribly wrong.

On a decent run themselves, Southampton did not play badly and enjoyed plenty of possession but Chelsea defended with confidence and also broke on the counter-attack with force.

Apart from switching off towards the end, with Charlie Austin seeing his subsequent effort ruled out for offside, Brazilian international Luiz took another small step towards proving he is a far better player than some have given him credit for.

He has that kamikaze streak in his locker but he currently complements the styles of both Cahill and Azpilicueta. Although featuring in the EFL Cup 2-1 loss at West Ham, John Terry may have some wait before he makes his league return.

Hazard, handed his Lille debut by now Saints boss Claude Puel, looks refreshed after effectively a season-long rest last term when he looked disinterested for long spells.

His third goal in as many league games came in the sixth minute after he picked up the ball in a central area and played a pass to Moses before running into space.

Moses, another player impressing for Conte, played the ball into the correct area and Hazard turned Steven Davis — far too easily — and struck the ball through the legs of Fraser Forster.

The England keeper’s legs came to his rescue at the start of the second half when he kept out an effort from Costa — but he had no chance when the striker made it 2-0.

Hazard was again involved, finding Costa, who was given far too much room by Cuco Martina, who was also guilty of turning his back.

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