Chelsea 2-4 Arsenal: Three lessons learnt in abysmal defeat

3. Chelsea needs midfield reinforcements

I have kept my mouth closed long enough. Every time someone says that N’Golo Kante is past his prime, I have to remind myself of his brilliant outings in the Champions League last season and bite my tongue. While I still do not believe this to be fully true, we’ve reached a point where Chelsea can no longer rely on the midfielder’s world class performances on a regular basis. He looks a shell of his former self. There is still an incredible player tucked away somewhere under that No. 7 shirt, fans just won’t be treated to frequent displays of excellence any longer.

For what it’s worth, I believe Kante should be given an extension or at least the option of one. He’s a luxury when at his best these days—as he showed last season—in one-off matches. Kante may not have the consistency or tireless legs that he did when he first came to west London, but that’s not to be expected at his age either. The 31-year-old has looked rather pedestrian this season though, especially compared to his old super-human self.

The same can be said for Jorginho, who has largely failed to replicate the form that earned him a third-place finish in the 2021 Ballon d’Or voting. The Italian has found himself on the bench more often than not recently. This is concerning given Tuchel’s reliance on the maestro just 12 months ago. However, it’s understandable given his niche. Jorginho is a unique player who doesn’t always fit the description of a midfielder in the German manager’s high-intensity system.

The decline—it sounds harsh, but it’s true—of the pair has led to question marks in the middle of the pitch as both players come up on one-year remaining on their contracts. The performance of Kante against the Gunners only served to highlight these quandaries ahead of the summer transfer window. The Frenchman was incredibly poor alongside Ruben Loftus-Cheek as he failed to put a stop to many Arsenal advances on the evening.

The weak showing from the midfield on Wednesday drove home the point that Chelsea is going to need a handful of midfield reinforcements in a few months’ time. If we’ve learned anything from the last slide, Conor Gallagher alone won’t be enough to cover up the cracks. The Blues will need to spend big to allow Tuchel to mold the midfield to his liking. It’s now turned into a matter of wanting Declan Rice and Aurelien Tchouameni, as opposed to one or the other.

What are some of the lessons you learnt in the match? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and on Twitter!