Déjà Vu. Yet not the good kind. That was the feeling Chelsea had after being swept aside by an irresistible Arsenal on Saturday evening. For all of the optimism and positives Arsenal can take from the game, precisely the opposite will be done on the blue side of London.
Arsenal were fantastic. In beating the 2014/15 Premier League Champions, they will hope they can now put a run together to keep in touch with runaway leaders, Manchester City.
For Chelsea, however, more questions need answering.
Chelsea looks frail at the back
Nervous, sloppy, rudderless. Just some of the words used by Chelsea fans to describe Chelsea’s back four.
Individually, and as a unit, Chelsea’s vulnerabilities are painfully apparent. The Blues’ 4-2 comeback against Leicester mid-week papered over the cracks, but this time, Cesc Fabregas could not save the Chelsea defense from being thrust into the spotlight.
The frequency at which these individual mistakes are happening is worrying. This time, a dreadful lapse in concentration by the despondent Gary Cahill led to the first goal, this being the second such error the Chelsea man has made this term, making him the most error prone defender in this young season to date.
In the wake of Chelsea’s draw to Swansea, the 30-year-old tweeted his displeasure at the referee’s decision leading to the Swans’ second goal. This time, however, the centre-back will not be questioning anyone but himself after his most recent blunder at the Emirates.
At times Cahill has been an excellent partner to John Terry, but without the Chelsea captain, Gary Cahill looks lost. According to Opta Joe, the Blues win percentage of 54.5% drops dramatically to 31.2% when Cahill is without Terry at the heart of Chelsea’s defense. This goes to show just how important John Terry is to this frail Chelsea back line. With poor performances over the last year in both the Chelsea and England shirt, is it time for Cahill to be dropped on John Terry’s return to full fitness?
Another man to experience a tortuous afternoon was Branislav Ivanovic. Time after time he is being found out for his pace, this time by Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi and the Serbian now must now be considered a burden to the much maligned Blues backline. The Chelsea faithful will be first to say that the Serbian has been an excellent servant to the club over the years, sealing the Europa League for Chelsea back in 2013. However, the consensus is that the Serbian is over the hill.
Cahill and Ivanovic are not the only ones to blame for Chelsea’s defensive frailties. In Arsenal’s second goal, it provided a horrible reminder of characteristics that plagued the Chelsea team last season. Laziness being one of them. This time by one of the spearheads of Chelsea’s attack, Eden Hazard, who failed to track Hector Bellerin, resulting in the Spaniard assisting Theo Walcott’s routine finish. A fantastic goal, yes. Well defended, no.
With the undeniable ability that Hazard possesses, like Messi does, should the Belgian get away with not completing his defensive duties?
Lack of Youth
For a club that’s youth team has won back to back UEFA Youth League titles, Chelsea looked ancient. Yes, Chelsea have often been labelled an aging team in the past. However, the Chelsea old guard of Drogba, Lampard, Terry, Cech etc. had the character and class to pull the team through. This Chelsea team lacks that character.
Is Ruben Loftus-Cheek the answer? Possibly.
At 20 years old, the youngster could provide just the injection of energy Chelsea need. The Chelsea youth product possesses the strength and pace that Chelsea miss in the centre of the park, and having been with the club since the age of eight, the club will be desperate he can be the inspiration for the next crop of Chelsea youth products, just like John Terry has been for all of these years.
With Matic a shell of the player that drove Chelsea to Premier League glory in 2014/15, there seems an obvious straight swap. Matic’s loss of form over the last year has been staggering, in the first half against Arsenal, Matic had won a mere 37.5% of his one on one duels. Numbers not those of a player who should command the Chelsea midfield. Ruben Loftus Cheeks waits in the pale shadow of the Serbian.
Confusion at Conte’s System
‘We didn’t start the game the way we wanted. We didn’t believe in what we were doing at the beginning and we were punished. As a team we didn’t do anything the manager asked of us.’ An honest assessment by Ivanovic.
To all football fans watching the game, it was painfully obvious that Chelsea were extremely uncomfortable playing the ball out from such a deep position in their own half. David Luiz aside, who had some bright moments playing the ball out of defense, the Blues’ back four were at a loss as to what they should do with the ball. The intended tikka taka at the back resulting in the ball being lumped up to lone centre-forward, Diego Costa.
Even the superlative that is Kante seemed lost in a role that resulted in him having to pick the ball up at the edge of his penalty box to kick start every Chelsea play. Maybe Conte will now realize that it was Kante’s ball winning abilities and not his ability to play the ball out (often so well done by Kante’s Leicester City teammate, Danny Drinkwater, last season) that led to the Frenchman establishing himself as the best defensive centre midfielder in the Premier League.
So does Conte stick with the system or change it? Conte has frequently been linked with integrating the 3-5-2 at Chelsea that he worked to such great effect in Italy with Juventus in previous years. But would it work in the Premier League? Would it hinder the exploits of Chelsea’s vulnerable magician, Eden Hazard?
Only time will tell. But one thing is for sure, questions need to be answered soon. Or Conte could find himself in a vulnerable position.
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