Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal: 3 things Potter got wrong in derby

Chelsea were defeated by one goal at home to Arsenal in the Premier League. Pride of London lists three things Graham Potter got wrong in the capital derby.

The Blues performance wasn’t all bad – but it was far from good, overall. This truly feels like a ‘back to the drawing board’ moment for the head coach. The underwhelming atmosphere must be overturned via great team displays.

In matches versus respective lesser opposition, supposedly, the Englishman has generally being correct with regards to his choices and game plans. And, for example, in the testing Champions League against varying levels of teams and in some other countries, Potter got it right in general.

However, some supporters seem overly pleased with the UCL draw against Borussia Dortmund. While CFC may perhaps have been drawn with bigger clubs, the Germans are a dangerous side. Before the World Cup hiatus for domestic football, the west London outfit’s only two concerns are the League Cup and the EPL.

The first match is against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening. A contest in which both sets of clubs are likely to fairly heavily rotate their starting XIs. Subsequently, Chels’ travel away to a very competitive and competent Newcastle United on Saturday evening.

The Magpies will be really up for that one in order to increase an already growing standing. But what does Potter need to put right from the Gunners defeat so to be triumphant in upcoming clashes?

Graham Potter’s Team selection

Let’s begin with the defence, which kind of selects itself at present because of a plethora of injuries. Well that’s not strictly true with Kalidou Koulibaly now returning to the substitute’s bench. Nevertheless, options are now ridiculously thin and the Senegalese has only just returned from a problem.

Let’s hope the boss actually has more of a selection headache after the international tournament. Partly due to the fact that depletion means I cannot yet advocate for the currently out of his depth Marc Cucurella to be dropped.

I don’t think Jorginho was ever going to be omitted as midfield anchor, with N’Golo Kante remaining sidelined. Yet I believe Denis Zakaria earned a chance to start in the English top-flight; if not for playing Arsenal, maybe the Swiss would have been in.

Meanwhile, in the No.8 role, Mateo Kovacic is nursing an ongoing knee issue so he can’t start every clash, especially with the World Cup on the horizon. I don’t think Ruben Loftus-Cheek has done much at all to justify being in the lineup. But the deployment of RLC instead of, say, a further forward dwelling and roving Conor Gallagher is self-explanatory.

Elsewhere, Mason Mount is unlikely to be left out: his value is clear, in spite of certain ignorant detractors. Aubameyang is still the main man up front, and you can understand that with his status. Although it won’t be long until striker Armando Broja is knocking on the door – or kicking it in!

Though rationalising the continued inclusion of Kai Havertz and, to a lesser extent, Raheem Sterling, is not easy. Despite a couple of good finishes, the Germany National player is absolutely vacant at times. Those occasions are typically, unfortunately, crucial games. Havertz is also known to disappear versus bottom half division sides, too. Christian Pulisic awaits his undoubtedly deserved run as a starter as well. I assume that the enigmatic Hakim Ziyech is not favoured by Potter.

Chelsea’s tendency to overplay

Yes, possession football was a mainstay of Thomas Tuchel’s strategic implementation, but there seemed to be an end result to the play more often than not. A stagnant feeling is beginning to emanate as the ball is played harmlessly around at the back, or not advanced quickly and decisively enough.

Incidentally, Zakaria was instrumental in that very capacity in his sole appearance. A game in which he netted a goal, I may add. Gallagher being introduced earlier might have helped here, to be honest. Rekindling the lost art of dribbling, periodically, is my honest advice, personnel permitting. Opening up space, drawing defenders out of position, beating an adversary – what’s not to like?!

The head coach’s indecisiveness

Chelsea are now 13 points behind their LDN rivals in the EPL; the weekend fixture was an opportunity to be bold, within reason. A victory at Stamford Bridge for the home team would have obviously resulted in only a seven point gap between the two.

With CFC unavoidably in a transitional period – I know the term has become cliche, though it is accurate – that hypothetical margin would have been a boost for UCL qualification next season. Not to mention being a figurative statement for the Blues. The trepidation shown by the former Brighton & Hove Albion manager was counterproductive to efforts vs Mikel Arteta’s men. An example being Havertz remaining on the pitch for the entirety of the first half following a terrible afternoon on the ball – let alone him coming back out after the interval.