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Three overreactions to Chelsea’s win at Arsenal on Sunday

By Gabe Henderson

Chelsea's German midfielder Kai Havertz shoots past Arsenal's German goalkeeper Bernd Leno to score the opening goal of the pre-season friendly football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at The Emirates Sadium in north London on August 1, 2021. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's German midfielder Kai Havertz shoots past Arsenal's German goalkeeper Bernd Leno to score the opening goal of the pre-season friendly football match between Arsenal and Chelsea at The Emirates Sadium in north London on August 1, 2021. - RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by Adrian DENNIS / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward Kylian Mbappe (C) fights for the ball with Lorient’s British defender Trevoh Chalobah (L) during the French L1 football match between FC Lorient and Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Yves-Allainmat stadium, in Lorient, western France, on January 31, 2021. (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER / AFP) (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images)
Paris Saint-Germain’s French forward Kylian Mbappe (C) fights for the ball with Lorient’s British defender Trevoh Chalobah (L) during the French L1 football match between FC Lorient and Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Yves-Allainmat stadium, in Lorient, western France, on January 31, 2021. (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER / AFP) (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images) /

Chelsea defeated Arsenal 2-1 in The Mind Series’ inaugural match on Sunday. Kai Havertz opened the scoring at the Emirates just shy of the half-hour mark with a thunderous strike into the top right corner. Bernd Leno was beaten for a second time about 50 minutes later when Tammy Abraham slotted the eventual game winner into the back of the net. The Blues played well for a majority of the match, but once the second wave of substitutes came into the contest, the visitors’ grip on the game began to loosen.

There were a handful of brilliant individual performances that led to a lot of buzz on social media. Of course, the fact this was a preseason contest will sometimes get lost in these mentions, so there are bound to be overreactions. It’s important during the friendlies to not lose sight of the circumstances. Therefore, it’s time to set the record straight.

Here are three overreactions from Chelsea’s win over Arsenal and why they are classified as such:

1. Trevoh Chalobah should contend for a starting spot

Trevoh Chalobah got the start in the center of a three-man defense on Sunday. The 22-year-old ended up playing longer than any other player for Thomas Tuchel’s side, getting 86 minutes under his belt. Suffice it to say, he made the most of his time on the pitch. Chalobah earned Man of the Match honors from The Pride of London and was widely regarded as one of the best players on the pitch by almost everyone involved.

This praise for the former Lorient loanee has led to a handful of supporters claiming he should be competing for a spot in the Blues’ starting XI—this is simply not the case. The Chelsea back line consisting of Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva/Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger is coming off a Champions League-winning campaign in which the unit put up record defensive statistics. As it stands, all four centerbacks will be returning with Kurt Zouma and target Jules Kounde acting as the wildcards. While Chalobah was superb against Arsenal, he has a long way to go before he can claim to be on the same level as the aforementioned defenders. Luckily for him all four of the UCL starters have less than a year left on their current contracts, so space could free up soon.

The versatile Englishman does deserve to make the team though. Tuchel’s positive outlook on a large squad became known last season and it’s unlikely his view has changed in the time since. Therefore, expect some former loan army and academy players to remain with the team after the transfer window slams shut on August 31. Chalobah’s ability to play two positions (centerback and defensive midfielder) is a huge bonus in the German gaffer’s eyes, as well.

Keeping Chalobah around is a low risk, high reward decision for Chelsea. He enjoyed a very successful stint in Ligue 1 last season and has started the preseason well with his parent club. At 22, a decision needs to be made regarding his future. The correct decision is to keep him around as a role player seeing as the Blues are competing in six competitions next season, but there’s no room for him in the starting XI at this moment in time.

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