Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal: 3 lessons learnt from derby defeat
By Tan Yi Hao
Realistic expectations for this season and beyond
After an outlay in excess of £200million in the summer, fans were reasonably expectant that this season would see the gap to the top teams in the league reduced significantly. With established names such as Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly joining the club for sizeable fees, the club were clearly aiming for success in the here and now. However, Sunday’s loss leaves CFC 13 points adrift from the top of the table after just 13 matchweeks. This is a position all too familiar for many fans since the club last won the league in 2016/17. Languishing in 7th place with no wins in the last four league matches, it goes without saying that Chelsea are nowhere near where they ought to be at this point of time in the season. More disheartening perhaps, was the clear gulf in performance levels between the two teams on Sunday that was very much representative of how far the Blues have fallen behind the likes of the Gunners and Manchester City. Arsenal played with a swagger and an assertiveness that was befitting of their status as the current league leaders and one cannot help but reminisce about the “good old days” where teams used to hate coming to Stamford Bridge.
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As things stand, and regardless of what Koulibaly may wish to believe about CFC’s title chances this season, the league title would once again elude the Blues this season. The Champions League win in 2020/21 seems but a distant memory now, and with Manchester City to come in the 3rd round of the League Cup on Wednesday, the FA Cup seems to be the only likely avenue for a winner’s medal this season. This is a realistic outlook at what fans should reasonably expect this season, and considering how long the respective rebuilding processes took at Liverpool and AFC, it may be years before Chelsea come anywhere close to the heights they last attained in the early 2000s. One can only hope that the board have hedged their bets correctly at the best man to take the club forward.