The persistent weakness of Chelsea’s remains Chelsea’s defensive fragility, especially after Arsenal managed to capitalize in the latest game. Under Enzo Maresca, Chelsea hasn’t been able to maintain defensive consistency as their miscalculations often result in errors.
In the last game against Arsenal, the Gunners capitalized on positioning errors and indecisiveness in Chelsea’s defence. Among several other factors, Chelsea’s defensive weaknesses are partly due to: Defensive cohesiveness is lacking. The influx of new signings alongside irregular changes have the tendency of disrupting the coherent building up of a solid defensive unit.
The midfield doesn’t provide adequate cover for the defense in some cases and leaves loopholes that the Gunners can exploit. Chelsea was quite brittle against the set pieces, and on the match days, Arsenal really made their presence felt through it. In particular, Bukayo Saka and particularly Gabriel Martinelli had issues keeping Chelsea’s backline stay compact.
Disconnection in midfield
It is partly due to Chelsea’s defensive struggles, obviously. Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo are great players on their own, but as far as coordinating goes about being a defensive shield, they were not nearly coherent. Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice exploited the spaces to hold mid then open up for Arsenal’s fluid attacks.
Though full of potential, Chelsea’s defensive weaknesses may put them off course if not corrected immediately.
How Arsenal exploited
The game plan of Arsenal was well-articulated, aimed at identifying some weaknesses in Chelsea defense. This included.
High Pressing: Chelsea’s defenders and midfielders were pressed almost aggressively by Arsenal, forcing turnovers, and disturbing their build-up play.
Wide Play: The Arsenal side overloaded the full-backs across the flanks, creating crosses and cutbacks that became dangerous moments for Chelsea.
Fast Transitions: Arsenal’s counterattacking exposed Chelsea’s high line, especially when a couple of players such as Saka and Martinelli ran into space.
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