Chelsea can take a lot of positives from the loss to Arsenal. They were the dominant side without doing much with their possession.
Liam Rosenior’s tactics took another hammering against Arsenal. First, he decided to start Liam Delap on the left-hand side, and then it was due to his side’s lack of urgency in a losing position.
Cole Palmer took up a position on the substitutes’ bench in his newfound super-sub role, and it didn’t really pay off. Perhaps he was hoping for a repeat of Alejandro Garnacho in the first leg.
Chelsea weren’t helped by the absence of Reece James and Pedro Neto, who on any normal day would be starters for Liam Rosenior‘s side.
This was something that Trevoh Chalobah raised after the game.
Did Rosenior get his tactics wrong against Arteta? 🤔
Hindsight is a wonderful thing…
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Trevoh Chalobah mentions the absence of Reece James and Pedro Neto
Rosenior confirmed that both James and Pedro Neto picked up slight strains and should be fine for the match against Wolves at the weekend.
This is a strange trend that seems to be occurring at Chelsea. First, it was Cole Palmer out with a suspicious strain and now more players are following.
Trevoh Chalobah spoke about their absence as a slight factor that didn’t help Chelsea on the night, but did say that he’s not looking to make excuses.
Paul Merson was having none of it, however.
“Yeah I am, he’s just saying about Reece James and Neto, they’re very good players. But Saka and Odegaard never played. Do you know what I mean?”
Is Liam Delap not good enough for Chelsea or are we not playing to his strengths?🤔
Liam Delap's display vs Arsenal
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
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Merson does raise a fair point; Arsenal did have their own absentees. It was more the fact that the Blues didn’t go for it that cost them, as they had more than enough possession and quality on the field.
It’s up to Rosenior to find the correct balance and tactics for his players.
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