Chelsea: Tiemoue Bakayoko paid the price for shuffling the 3-5-2’s midfield

Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas swapped sides in Chelsea’s midfield against Arsenal on Wednesday. The shift marooned Bakayoko on the right, as he did not comfortably integrate with the play on that side.

Antonio Conte sent out the usual 3-5-2 squad to face Arsenal, but reversed Tiemoue Bakayoko and Cesc Fabregas on either side of N’Golo Kante. Fabregas played much his usual role on the opposite side. For the first time this season, Fabregas made the majority of his passes – nearly 80% – on the left side of the pitch. All but four of his touches in Chelsea’s offensive half (excluding corner kicks) were on the left.

Bakayoko, on the other hand, did not take to the right side as well. He was frequently caught in unproductive space, particularly in transition. He did not effectively help Victor Moses handle Ainsley Maitland-Miles on offence or defence, did not present himself as an outlet and often looked like a man in search of someone to mark or a zone to cover.

Despite that, for much of the first half he was one of Chelsea’s strongest offensive threats, along with Marcos Alonso. Bakayoko had two shots in the first half, including one on target. He regularly threatened Arsenal’s defensive line at the top of their box, either timing up a run to latch onto a pass or making himself available for a shot. Bakayoko looked like the best option to run into the box and create a second-ball opportunity whenever Eden Hazard attempted to dribble his way into the area.

Bakayoko activated his final-third defensive play by pulling out of his “assigned” position into his more comfortable role. He was solid in individual efforts, whether creating offensive opportunities or fulfilling his defensive role. But within the overall structure, he went wanting.

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One possible idea for this midfield rearrangement was to allow Fabregas to roam freely, with Bakayoko counter-balancing Fabregas’ movements around the focal point, N’Golo Kante. Fabregas, though, rarely strayed from the left, which pushed Bakayoko further to the right.

Another possible explanation for this formation, then, was for Fabregas to balance Cesar Azpilicueta as the source of long passes from deep to Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard. In the previous game against Stoke, Azpilicueta spent much of his shift in Chelsea’s midfield searching for his seventh assist to his countryman. Antonio Conte may have decided to make this positioning and passing part of the formal programme by giving Azpilicueta the right-side passing channel, and Fabregas that on the left.

If that was the plan, though, it exacted a toll on Tiemoue Bakayoko with little reward. Only five of Azpilicueta’s 33 passes were in Arsenal’s half, a significant drop in absolute and relative terms for both measures. Meanwhile, the plan to allot space for two Spanish midfield playmakers interfered with Bakayoko’s movement anchored on N’Golo Kante.

Tiemoue Bakayoko is a prisoner of the early-season narratives that sprung up around him. A few weak or mediocre performances set the story in motion that he was a transfer flop. Fans and pundits now place the burden of proof on each of Bakayoko’s performances to prove de novo he is a worthwhile addition to the squad and deserving of a regular spot in the starting XI. This is an unrealistic and unfair assessment, given his improvements over the season and the folly of stripping all context from every match.

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The 3-5-2 showed many signs of weakness and disutility against Arsenal. Tiemoue Bakayoko’s performances are markedly better when he plays with Kante in a 3-4-3. Antonio Conte’s challenge is finding a way to bring the best out of his French midfield duo when there is a Spaniard or Englishman in there with them.