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Chelsea FC At The Emirates: 4 Post-Match Musings

By Ejoh Celestine

LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 24: Captains Theo Walcott of Arsenal and John Terry of Chelsea with the match officials before the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on January 24, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 24: Captains Theo Walcott of Arsenal and John Terry of Chelsea with the match officials before the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on January 24, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 24: Thibaut Courtois of Chelsea celebrates after team-mate Diego Costa of Chelsea scored the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on January 24, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 24: Thibaut Courtois of Chelsea celebrates after team-mate Diego Costa of Chelsea scored the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on January 24, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /

4. Thibaut Courtois

The 23-year-old Thibaut Courtois was regarded as one of the five best goalkeepers in the world, his quality forcing the sale of Petr Cech to Arsenal. Unfortunately, the young Belgian has not been at his inspirational best this season. In the 11+ games he has played so far in all competitions, he has kept just three clean sheets, been booked on two occasions and has made three errors with one leading directly to a goal.

It would be unfair to put the blame largely on his shoulders as the Blues have been collectively poor in defence so far this season. Injury also sidelined him for three months while it appeared as though he was rushed back. But it would be difficult to overlook the string of errors he has been making since his return back to the 1st XI in December, especially with regard to dealing with crosses into the box, an area where he was initially very proficient.

Against Arsenal on Sunday, he failed to deal adequately with two crosses into the box, dropping the first one under pressure from Flamini and later in the second half completely missing the ball while attempting to punch it clear under no pressure whatsoever. Not only that, it seems that he doesn’t have total command of his 18-yard box and also lacks the ability to coordinate the defenders.

But in this area I do not ascribe much blame to him; apart from Kurt Zouma who is two years younger, every other member of Chelsea’s defence is older than him, with Azpilicueta being the closest in age at 26 years. So expecting him to boss Cahill (30), Ivanovic (31) and Terry (35) around would be a tall order.

Petr Cech has been lauded for his command of the 18-yard box and his leadership skills, but he never had to face the situation the young Belgian is saddled with at Chelsea currently. Apart from Ricardo Carvalho and Juliano Belletti, none of the multitude of defenders he played with in his 11 years at Chelsea were more than 3 years older than him and currently, none of Arsenal’s defenders are older than him.

So comparing him with Courtois, which many have taken to doing in recent times due to his impressive performances for Arsenal, is totally unfair and uncalled for. But the fact remains that the young goalkeeper is one of the players that needs to start showing some signs of improvement if the Blues are to get away from their recent defensive problems.

Next: Final Thoughts

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