There have been seasons when Chelsea have turned up at the Emirates Stadium and parked the bus. On Sunday, though, there was no holding back from Chelsea. We wanted to be active.” The plan worked at times.
Chelsea maintained their habit of scoring early goals, going ahead through Morgan Rogers, and created further openings. But they were facing the champions and do not have Arsenal’s completeness. Shortcomings were exploited, particularly in midfield.
Declan Rice romped through the middle at one point and the winning goal owed much to Reece James losing track of Martin Ødegaard as Arsenal’s captain strode through to fire past Emiliano Martínez. It was expected to be a key battleground, and the way Arsenal went 2-1 up was felt keenly by Chelsea given their difficulties on deadline day, when Enzo Fernández got his £125m move to Manchester City and no one was signed to replace the Argentinian. However, it is worth remembering Chelsea were short not only of Fernández’s offensive skills as they fell to their first defeat under Alonso.
It was also significant that Moisés Caicedo was out again, an unspecified issue proving a nuisance, and it is a concern that Alonso lacks a suitable stand-in for the Ecuador international, whose ability to cover ground, snap into challenges and shield his defence would have come in handy against a midfield as powerful as Arsenal’s. There is much to like about Alonso’s vision. Chelsea are not obsessed with possession and are speeding forward on the counterattack.
Yet while they look menacing with every attack there is a cost to the chaos. Alonso has found balance elusive. Chelsea have conceded seven goals in three games, are without a clean sheet in the league since January and need the oomph provided by Caicedo if they are to make this full-throttle style work.
Caicedo, such an important presence since joining for £115m in 2023, is yet to start this season. He missed the 3-2 win against Fulham and was replaced 14 minutes after coming on during the 4-3 victory over Brighton. Alonso is erring on the side of caution.
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