Corruption calls are a joke. Incompetence is a better description. Also, probably worth showing Lavia some respect. Needs some time to find match sharpness, given he’s barely played the last few years. He lacks athleticism and it felt like he and James were playing as individuals, rather than a partnership, but I thought he did well. He was snapping into challenges, pressing and won the ball back in key areas.
As some replies pointed out, this piece is far too emotional. To look at the objective facts, if Pedro Neto's shot didn't hit the post and got in, if Martinez didn't lose that near post, just one of these two or several other occasions went out way, we could have easily got at least a draw. Attack-wise Palmer, James, Neto, Estevao had powerful and clean shots on target, even more than Arsenal. Of course I never expected to win over Arsenal at this stage, but I think we didn't do too badly.
Apart from experience, cooperation among players, etc. which of course Chelsea are still far from good, one thing that should be pointed out is the lack of physicality. Too frequently our players were outmuscled. You can see Arteta bought players like Bruno Guimares, Konsa, etc. and keep Gyokeres but let go Martinelli, Trossard, etc. in this direction and we can see why. We do need someone like Obi Mikel and Gary Cahill.
As for players' performance, Gusto really did not do too badly. He is not the typical DM but he was not sent onto the pitch to be one. He played more like a box-to-box midfielder who has to carry the ball across midfield, distribute, and even to set up attack. All in all I think Chelsea did not do too bad but still too early to challenge a well-drilled team like Arsenal. We can be critical but no need to be too harsh at this stage.
I guess in this instance, we are not in agreement and that’s not normal. Si your article seems emotional. I actually thought we played better overall around the pitch than we have in other games except upfront. Nobody can argue that we missed out on adding to the midfield but I think it’s a little too much to say Alonso was thrown under the bus. Most of what he asked for he got and at the end of the day circumstances developed late in the day to stop us getting that extra midfield player. I guess at the end of the day football is a wonderful game and we all see individual matches through our own individual eyes and have our own individual feelings.
Honestly this is crazy harsh. Chelsea played exceptionally well against a team that should be better than us. I had arsenal fans telling how good we looked today. So...
Arteta has been building this Arsenal team for 6.5 years, Alonso about 6.5 weeks!!!
PSG, who probably have the best attack, couldn’t score against them in 120 minutes.
Going into this game I was worried about our defence, but we caused them problems and gave them a game.
Despite the loss, I actually feel slightly more positive after the game. We’ll be an even better team with Caicedo and Palestra back.
Yes we need another CM, but let’s not jump on the club about this after every loss. I really don’t think had we signed Camara, it would have changed the outcome today.
First off I have been saying for a couple of seasons that Kavanagh is the new Taylor when it us and he was poor yesterday but to call him corrupt is beneath you. Yes. Gabriel should have seen red, but it was the first 5 minutes (although that wasn’t taken into consideration when Sanchez saw red against United) How was Rice not booked and Rodgers saw yellow for Rice’s cynicism. How did Lewis Skelley avoid a yellow after six fouls? Do I think he was biased? Yes. Do I think he is corrupt? no way and for you to make that accusation is beneath you and I say that as someone who is still fuming with the way he officiated the game.
Is your knee still jerking?
Yes, Arsenal were the better footballing team? Undoubtably. Were we outclassed? No. On the back of one narrow defeat against the best team in England you are saying the subscribers who thought we would either win the title or finish 2nd were wildly optimistic. Well without Moi and Levi we were still competitive and only a worldie from Raya stopped us from sharing the spoils. I still remember The Gooners being 3 up against us and going on to win the title, one game does not a season make. How many times have we dominated games in recent years and still been beaten, we hung un there until the end and that is a big forward step
You say we need two more central midfielders, yet if we lose to Leeds on Wednesday or go out in the next round and exit early from the FA cup, how are we supposed to keep them happy, had we signed Lamara would a 6/10 suddenly turned into a 9/10 as you were singing their praises before deadline day? It was hardly the club’s fault that Monaco have no scruples, and yes I know we should have acted earlier in the window, but we have to take into consideration the UEFA sanction hanging over us and if the Enzo transfer hadn’t gone through we would have been screwed.
I agree with you that Fofana is just not an elite defender and the absence of Barco is a bit of a mystery, but Alonso sees the players in training and knows far mor about management than either you or I. With regards to Lavia I thought he had a decent game and needs time to get back to his very best, but I thought he was good today.
Sorry if you feel this is over critical in light of things that have been said on the forum lately but I have tried to be objective and although I don’t always agree with your views, I’d like to think that your comments about Kavanagh in particular were said in the heat of the moment.
I have to disagree! I thought we played well, they were better but they are better than everyone not named psg at the moment which sickens me to say! But we are not far off! And I actually thought fofana did very well today
You are a realist and it’s not being negative pointing out the blatantly obvious weaknesses. The midfield particularly. I thought the officiating was as usual inconsistent. The players are their own worst enemies as they continually fall over and feign injury without being hardly touched. I’m sick of it. Arsenal are much further along in their process but we could have got a draw. There were certainly positives but we will lose a lot of games because we are so open in midfield and defence. Neto is not a wing back and why send on Gusto in midfield and not Barco who’s a midfielder.
The difference in the match to me is year 8 vs. match 4 and one window. We competed well and gave them trouble in what will be our hardest fixture of the season and did so without 2 starters in Caicedo and Palestra. It is clear we have a way to go in organization at the back and patterns of play going forward. The squad also isn’t complete yet and will take more than one window, brining Gusto on as a CM sub is the clearest example of this. I think today we learned we have enough to get to where we need to go this season which is top 4. Overall disappointed, but encouraged by where this team can get to this season.
Agree about referring and general level of the team, but I don't actually think we're 'that' far off.
Lavia is garbage and I'm baffled by what people on this site/chat are saying about what we're watching. Never in a position to cover defenders, terrible at tackling, doesn't win headers and then offers nothing going forward a complete passenger at best.
Hato is better with the game in front of him at LCB, he's too easily bullied at wingback having to turn and defender far out wide, and doesn't offer much going forward at the top level.
I really don't get what people are watching with Fofana. He made a couple of mistakes today with a bad touch or so, but other than that he was really good.
Other than that I think we need to actually get the wingback system working because it's somehow not covering the defence reliably and attack only comes down one flank.
So probably 2 midfielders and a LWB for the first XI then depth across the pitch is what's needed.
Not exactly a question of being optimistic or pessimistic. But to analyse a game as such. A great game. Really beautiful. On this team I don't find devastating flaws but interesting prospects. You can see that it's a different and more modern football. What should I tell you, I don't agree with your analysis.
Disagree with a lot of this Si, sorry! Thought Lavia played well and we lost control or ability to get on the ball when he went off, that wasn’t really our problem. Is Moises better then him yes, but he is better then most midfielders in the world. Also thought the front line were ok, not great but it’s not easy against Arsenal but thought they still were all involved to a point, all had chances….
Reading the self-adulating bullshit coming from the SD’s at the end of the window was sickening. They further weakened our midfield while simultaneously strengthening United and City. Enzo was always leaving so they simply HAD to drop the bag for Scott or Wharton to replace him. To not even get another body in is unforgivable and unfortunately I think that decision has dramatically reduced the ceiling of our season. But in Xabi we trust!
Sorry but I am afraid I disagree Si. We weren't good enough? This was Alonso's first real test and he passed it with flying colours. We were very unlucky not to get a draw and we were certainly not outclassed. We made two mistakes; one because of Martinez not seeing the ball initially and was moving one way already before being beaten at his near post and the second a Fofana mistake allowing himself to be sold a dummy and letting it run for Arsenal to take the lead. Otherwise though we competed strongly against arguably the best side in Europe right now. I don't know what you expected? Superlatives? We have a long way to go before we are the finished article and yet we competed very well today. Sorry, not today Si, have to disagree. Also I agree with one prediction, we are more than capable of competing for top 4 this season at least.
You're more than welcome to disagree mate. But we weren't good enough, absolutely not. Our defence and midfield is not going to compete as it is. Sorry, but it won't. Everyone is always welcome to their views. I've given my views in this article, so I wont keep repeating them, nor will I change them :)
I am entitled to disagree because I believe you expect too much at this stage of the season and that is bearing in mind we had no Caicedo and an error prone Fofana. Otherwise Arsenal didn't embarrass us. They had moments of control but were never blowing us away this time and we could have had 2 or 3. I am not here to change your views. I am here to disagree and give mine :)
I know you’re not entitled to agree with me, nobody ever is. And I believe many people have been getting far too carried away with the Alonso effect. We have a LONG way to go and a lot of work to do. So we will leave it there mate and agree to disagree 👍🏼
It's because it's early days that is the reason why I think it's ridiculous to expect too much. You yourself said it's too early to get carried away and I agree. But outclassed? No. But we'll leave it there and agree to disagree as you said!
Gabriel should have been red carded but thats VAR issue rather than the referee per se. Chelsea list this because our midfield two were not up to the task of playing fast added to JP repeatedly refusing to test his pace against the wingers and fullbacks. I agree Forfana is mentally slow to see the picture around him and therefore reacts late. Like you I was shocked by the midfield substitutes choice but perhaps the natural choices are carrying “quiet” injuries. Good test for Chelsea.
Corruption calls are a joke. Incompetence is a better description. Also, probably worth showing Lavia some respect. Needs some time to find match sharpness, given he’s barely played the last few years. He lacks athleticism and it felt like he and James were playing as individuals, rather than a partnership, but I thought he did well. He was snapping into challenges, pressing and won the ball back in key areas.
Palmer was awful. Need to be benched for Estavao for a game or two.
Some players need to be sold in the next two windows. Neto and gusto.
As some replies pointed out, this piece is far too emotional. To look at the objective facts, if Pedro Neto's shot didn't hit the post and got in, if Martinez didn't lose that near post, just one of these two or several other occasions went out way, we could have easily got at least a draw. Attack-wise Palmer, James, Neto, Estevao had powerful and clean shots on target, even more than Arsenal. Of course I never expected to win over Arsenal at this stage, but I think we didn't do too badly.
Apart from experience, cooperation among players, etc. which of course Chelsea are still far from good, one thing that should be pointed out is the lack of physicality. Too frequently our players were outmuscled. You can see Arteta bought players like Bruno Guimares, Konsa, etc. and keep Gyokeres but let go Martinelli, Trossard, etc. in this direction and we can see why. We do need someone like Obi Mikel and Gary Cahill.
As for players' performance, Gusto really did not do too badly. He is not the typical DM but he was not sent onto the pitch to be one. He played more like a box-to-box midfielder who has to carry the ball across midfield, distribute, and even to set up attack. All in all I think Chelsea did not do too bad but still too early to challenge a well-drilled team like Arsenal. We can be critical but no need to be too harsh at this stage.
I guess in this instance, we are not in agreement and that’s not normal. Si your article seems emotional. I actually thought we played better overall around the pitch than we have in other games except upfront. Nobody can argue that we missed out on adding to the midfield but I think it’s a little too much to say Alonso was thrown under the bus. Most of what he asked for he got and at the end of the day circumstances developed late in the day to stop us getting that extra midfield player. I guess at the end of the day football is a wonderful game and we all see individual matches through our own individual eyes and have our own individual feelings.
Honestly this is crazy harsh. Chelsea played exceptionally well against a team that should be better than us. I had arsenal fans telling how good we looked today. So...
Arteta has been building this Arsenal team for 6.5 years, Alonso about 6.5 weeks!!!
PSG, who probably have the best attack, couldn’t score against them in 120 minutes.
Going into this game I was worried about our defence, but we caused them problems and gave them a game.
Despite the loss, I actually feel slightly more positive after the game. We’ll be an even better team with Caicedo and Palestra back.
Yes we need another CM, but let’s not jump on the club about this after every loss. I really don’t think had we signed Camara, it would have changed the outcome today.
Let’s get behind the boys and the club 💙
Sorry Si but this is a truly poor article.
First off I have been saying for a couple of seasons that Kavanagh is the new Taylor when it us and he was poor yesterday but to call him corrupt is beneath you. Yes. Gabriel should have seen red, but it was the first 5 minutes (although that wasn’t taken into consideration when Sanchez saw red against United) How was Rice not booked and Rodgers saw yellow for Rice’s cynicism. How did Lewis Skelley avoid a yellow after six fouls? Do I think he was biased? Yes. Do I think he is corrupt? no way and for you to make that accusation is beneath you and I say that as someone who is still fuming with the way he officiated the game.
Is your knee still jerking?
Yes, Arsenal were the better footballing team? Undoubtably. Were we outclassed? No. On the back of one narrow defeat against the best team in England you are saying the subscribers who thought we would either win the title or finish 2nd were wildly optimistic. Well without Moi and Levi we were still competitive and only a worldie from Raya stopped us from sharing the spoils. I still remember The Gooners being 3 up against us and going on to win the title, one game does not a season make. How many times have we dominated games in recent years and still been beaten, we hung un there until the end and that is a big forward step
You say we need two more central midfielders, yet if we lose to Leeds on Wednesday or go out in the next round and exit early from the FA cup, how are we supposed to keep them happy, had we signed Lamara would a 6/10 suddenly turned into a 9/10 as you were singing their praises before deadline day? It was hardly the club’s fault that Monaco have no scruples, and yes I know we should have acted earlier in the window, but we have to take into consideration the UEFA sanction hanging over us and if the Enzo transfer hadn’t gone through we would have been screwed.
I agree with you that Fofana is just not an elite defender and the absence of Barco is a bit of a mystery, but Alonso sees the players in training and knows far mor about management than either you or I. With regards to Lavia I thought he had a decent game and needs time to get back to his very best, but I thought he was good today.
Sorry if you feel this is over critical in light of things that have been said on the forum lately but I have tried to be objective and although I don’t always agree with your views, I’d like to think that your comments about Kavanagh in particular were said in the heat of the moment.
I have to disagree! I thought we played well, they were better but they are better than everyone not named psg at the moment which sickens me to say! But we are not far off! And I actually thought fofana did very well today
You are a realist and it’s not being negative pointing out the blatantly obvious weaknesses. The midfield particularly. I thought the officiating was as usual inconsistent. The players are their own worst enemies as they continually fall over and feign injury without being hardly touched. I’m sick of it. Arsenal are much further along in their process but we could have got a draw. There were certainly positives but we will lose a lot of games because we are so open in midfield and defence. Neto is not a wing back and why send on Gusto in midfield and not Barco who’s a midfielder.
The difference in the match to me is year 8 vs. match 4 and one window. We competed well and gave them trouble in what will be our hardest fixture of the season and did so without 2 starters in Caicedo and Palestra. It is clear we have a way to go in organization at the back and patterns of play going forward. The squad also isn’t complete yet and will take more than one window, brining Gusto on as a CM sub is the clearest example of this. I think today we learned we have enough to get to where we need to go this season which is top 4. Overall disappointed, but encouraged by where this team can get to this season.
Agree about referring and general level of the team, but I don't actually think we're 'that' far off.
Lavia is garbage and I'm baffled by what people on this site/chat are saying about what we're watching. Never in a position to cover defenders, terrible at tackling, doesn't win headers and then offers nothing going forward a complete passenger at best.
Hato is better with the game in front of him at LCB, he's too easily bullied at wingback having to turn and defender far out wide, and doesn't offer much going forward at the top level.
I really don't get what people are watching with Fofana. He made a couple of mistakes today with a bad touch or so, but other than that he was really good.
Other than that I think we need to actually get the wingback system working because it's somehow not covering the defence reliably and attack only comes down one flank.
So probably 2 midfielders and a LWB for the first XI then depth across the pitch is what's needed.
Give it 10 games with all the weekly coaching and we will have a better idea of the team weaknesses and where we need reinforcements/replacements.
Not exactly a question of being optimistic or pessimistic. But to analyse a game as such. A great game. Really beautiful. On this team I don't find devastating flaws but interesting prospects. You can see that it's a different and more modern football. What should I tell you, I don't agree with your analysis.
Disagree with a lot of this Si, sorry! Thought Lavia played well and we lost control or ability to get on the ball when he went off, that wasn’t really our problem. Is Moises better then him yes, but he is better then most midfielders in the world. Also thought the front line were ok, not great but it’s not easy against Arsenal but thought they still were all involved to a point, all had chances….
Guess it’s a game of opinions!
Reading the self-adulating bullshit coming from the SD’s at the end of the window was sickening. They further weakened our midfield while simultaneously strengthening United and City. Enzo was always leaving so they simply HAD to drop the bag for Scott or Wharton to replace him. To not even get another body in is unforgivable and unfortunately I think that decision has dramatically reduced the ceiling of our season. But in Xabi we trust!
Couldn’t have put it better myself.
Sorry but I am afraid I disagree Si. We weren't good enough? This was Alonso's first real test and he passed it with flying colours. We were very unlucky not to get a draw and we were certainly not outclassed. We made two mistakes; one because of Martinez not seeing the ball initially and was moving one way already before being beaten at his near post and the second a Fofana mistake allowing himself to be sold a dummy and letting it run for Arsenal to take the lead. Otherwise though we competed strongly against arguably the best side in Europe right now. I don't know what you expected? Superlatives? We have a long way to go before we are the finished article and yet we competed very well today. Sorry, not today Si, have to disagree. Also I agree with one prediction, we are more than capable of competing for top 4 this season at least.
You're more than welcome to disagree mate. But we weren't good enough, absolutely not. Our defence and midfield is not going to compete as it is. Sorry, but it won't. Everyone is always welcome to their views. I've given my views in this article, so I wont keep repeating them, nor will I change them :)
https://x.com/All4footballl/status/2096657452871618688
I am entitled to disagree because I believe you expect too much at this stage of the season and that is bearing in mind we had no Caicedo and an error prone Fofana. Otherwise Arsenal didn't embarrass us. They had moments of control but were never blowing us away this time and we could have had 2 or 3. I am not here to change your views. I am here to disagree and give mine :)
I know you’re not entitled to agree with me, nobody ever is. And I believe many people have been getting far too carried away with the Alonso effect. We have a LONG way to go and a lot of work to do. So we will leave it there mate and agree to disagree 👍🏼
It's because it's early days that is the reason why I think it's ridiculous to expect too much. You yourself said it's too early to get carried away and I agree. But outclassed? No. But we'll leave it there and agree to disagree as you said!
Gabriel should have been red carded but thats VAR issue rather than the referee per se. Chelsea list this because our midfield two were not up to the task of playing fast added to JP repeatedly refusing to test his pace against the wingers and fullbacks. I agree Forfana is mentally slow to see the picture around him and therefore reacts late. Like you I was shocked by the midfield substitutes choice but perhaps the natural choices are carrying “quiet” injuries. Good test for Chelsea.