Chelsea had a chance to go 4 points clear of Manchester City and strengthen their hold on a top four spot with a win against an Arsenal side missing many key players. Instead, the Blues, also missing several key players, struggled to find a foothold in the game and showed little urgency in chasing the game.
Here are three things we learned from another disappointing Chelsea defeat:
We miss Cole Palmer and any creativity
When the team sheet was released this morning there was a surprising omission with Cole Palmer missing completely from the squad. Enzo Maresca revealed that Palmer suffered an injury during training on Saturday and would be unable to play in the crucial London Derby.
There was no indication if Palmer would also miss the international fixtures during this break but it was clear he would be missed against a stubborn Arsenal side. Even during his lengthy goal drought, now sitting at 10 games, Palmer was the engine that made the Chelsea engine go. His creativity in the center of the pitch unlocked any positive momentum that the Blues had and that was sorely missed.
Enzo Fernandez was pushed up into Palmer’s number 10 role and he did his best but is not the creative force that Palmer is. He showed great industry and work rate but was never able to take a defender on 1v1 and unfortunately no one else in the side tried to do it either.
There was such a massive lack of creativity by the Blues that at times it was hard to watch. Even when Cole Palmer is not at his best he at least tries something daring and creative. No other player in Blue even dared to try it and that was their undoing today.