Arsenal intimidate Half Cooked Chelsea
The champions look under-prepared with Antonio
Conte still pleading for more players and the
season starting in less than a week
COMMENT
You shouldn't read much into the result of a
Community Shield. Arsenal won on penalties here
in the new ABBA format but even had Chelsea
emerged victorious there would still be a need for
questions to be answered. Is this it? Is this how
equipped the Premier League champions are for
the season ahead? Where is the quality? Who is
under pressure for his place in the team?
Their starting XI at Wembley was pretty much the
bones of last season’s title-winning team minus
summer departure Nemanja Matic, wantaway
striker Diego Costa and the injured Eden Hazard.
Spurs to finish above Arsenal in EPL - 4/5
RELATED
Alarm bells should be ringing in the ears of Blues
supporters given the lack of options - and
competition in the squad - as their team embark
on a quest to retain their trophy.
Antonio Conte has endured a frustrating summer
ever since missing out on first-choice striking
target Romelu Lukaku. He suggested last week
that Matic was sold without his full consent too.
He is about to start what he has called the most
difficult season of his managerial career with his
team in far worse shape than they were in
winning the league last term.
The acquisitions of Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue
Bakayoko and Antonio Rudiger look good on
paper but don’t appear to have strengthened the
squad. Instead they've only replaced what has
been taken away.
The depth of Chelsea’s bench here - even for a
pre-season match - was shocking. Alongside
loan returnees Andreas Christensen, Charlie
Musonda Jr and Jeremie Boga were new
signings Morata and Rudiger plus a 35-year-old
goalkeeper signed on a free in Willy Caballero.
Filling out the bench was youth teamer Kyle
Scott.
They cannot depend on Eden Hazard until the
middle of September.
Arsenal beat Chelsea in Community Shield
And this time they do not even have the luxury of
a full week to prepare for league fixtures. Very
soon the Champions League will begin in earnest
and Conte will have to preserve his best men for
matches in that competition too. Right now it
doesn’t appear that he has the requisite strength
to fight on two fronts.
Conte took a question about Chelsea’s ability to
splash €222m on a player like Neymar last week
and turned it into a plea for more numbers. It is
an intense game that the Chelsea manager
favours and one which benefitted from the
continuity of consistent selections last season. It
won't happen like that again.
Mainstays Matic and Costa are gone forever and
adjustments need to be made. Without Hazard
they are short of a world class attacker and no
number of Pedros or Willians can make up for his
absence. Cesc Fabregas remains a player of rare
pedigree but not in a deeper centre midfield
position. He needs workers around him.
Chelsea two seasons ago under Jose Mourinho
fell into the trap of being underprepared for a title
defence. That curse struck Leicester City last
season under Claudio Ranieri too. Conte has
spoken properly all summer about the need to
add players and maintain momentum but less
than a week from their season opener against
Burnley and Chelsea look half-cooked.
Morata looks an awkward fit in this system and
is no replacement for the bull Costa. He snatched
at two presentable chances in the second half
here and missed his penalty. It was not a good
start to life in England.
Rudiger meanwhile must learn that it is no good
standing with your arm in the air pleading offside
when the opposition are celebrating a goal. He
and the rest of the Chelsea rearguard should
have done more to prevent Sead Kolasinac’s
equaliser which immediately followed Pedro’s
straight red.
Thibaut Courtois' penalty miss may grab most of
the headlines but of more concern to Chelsea is
that they don’t look like title-winners. They don’t
even look like contenders. The end of the season
is a long way off but Conte has more work to do
right now than he did at the start of the summer.
Conte still pleading for more players and the
season starting in less than a week
COMMENT
You shouldn't read much into the result of a
Community Shield. Arsenal won on penalties here
in the new ABBA format but even had Chelsea
emerged victorious there would still be a need for
questions to be answered. Is this it? Is this how
equipped the Premier League champions are for
the season ahead? Where is the quality? Who is
under pressure for his place in the team?
Their starting XI at Wembley was pretty much the
bones of last season’s title-winning team minus
summer departure Nemanja Matic, wantaway
striker Diego Costa and the injured Eden Hazard.
Spurs to finish above Arsenal in EPL - 4/5
RELATED
Alarm bells should be ringing in the ears of Blues
supporters given the lack of options - and
competition in the squad - as their team embark
on a quest to retain their trophy.
Antonio Conte has endured a frustrating summer
ever since missing out on first-choice striking
target Romelu Lukaku. He suggested last week
that Matic was sold without his full consent too.
He is about to start what he has called the most
difficult season of his managerial career with his
team in far worse shape than they were in
winning the league last term.
The acquisitions of Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue
Bakayoko and Antonio Rudiger look good on
paper but don’t appear to have strengthened the
squad. Instead they've only replaced what has
been taken away.
The depth of Chelsea’s bench here - even for a
pre-season match - was shocking. Alongside
loan returnees Andreas Christensen, Charlie
Musonda Jr and Jeremie Boga were new
signings Morata and Rudiger plus a 35-year-old
goalkeeper signed on a free in Willy Caballero.
Filling out the bench was youth teamer Kyle
Scott.
They cannot depend on Eden Hazard until the
middle of September.
Arsenal beat Chelsea in Community Shield
And this time they do not even have the luxury of
a full week to prepare for league fixtures. Very
soon the Champions League will begin in earnest
and Conte will have to preserve his best men for
matches in that competition too. Right now it
doesn’t appear that he has the requisite strength
to fight on two fronts.
Conte took a question about Chelsea’s ability to
splash €222m on a player like Neymar last week
and turned it into a plea for more numbers. It is
an intense game that the Chelsea manager
favours and one which benefitted from the
continuity of consistent selections last season. It
won't happen like that again.
Mainstays Matic and Costa are gone forever and
adjustments need to be made. Without Hazard
they are short of a world class attacker and no
number of Pedros or Willians can make up for his
absence. Cesc Fabregas remains a player of rare
pedigree but not in a deeper centre midfield
position. He needs workers around him.
Chelsea two seasons ago under Jose Mourinho
fell into the trap of being underprepared for a title
defence. That curse struck Leicester City last
season under Claudio Ranieri too. Conte has
spoken properly all summer about the need to
add players and maintain momentum but less
than a week from their season opener against
Burnley and Chelsea look half-cooked.
Morata looks an awkward fit in this system and
is no replacement for the bull Costa. He snatched
at two presentable chances in the second half
here and missed his penalty. It was not a good
start to life in England.
Rudiger meanwhile must learn that it is no good
standing with your arm in the air pleading offside
when the opposition are celebrating a goal. He
and the rest of the Chelsea rearguard should
have done more to prevent Sead Kolasinac’s
equaliser which immediately followed Pedro’s
straight red.
Thibaut Courtois' penalty miss may grab most of
the headlines but of more concern to Chelsea is
that they don’t look like title-winners. They don’t
even look like contenders. The end of the season
is a long way off but Conte has more work to do
right now than he did at the start of the summer.
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