This Chelsea team has no urgency and it’s Enzo Maresca’s fault
There was a period in the match when there was some actual intensity and fight from Chelsea and it came just after halftime. They actually forced Arsenal to defend and the Gunners got three yellow cards in the span of 10 minutes from the 54th to the 65th minute. Unfortunately that didn’t lead to any goals for the Blues and after that things settled into a mind-numbing malaise.
You would be forgiven if you thought both sides were settling for a draw or if Chelsea were up several goals and just trying to see the match through to full-time. The Blues were content to just pass sideways and backwards and any time any Chelsea player had the chance to take his man 1v1 on the wings or release someone on a run down the channel, they opted to pass backwards and keep possession.
There was a complete lack of urgency as the Blues halfheartedly chased a goal and the only explanation is that it was at the manager’s behest. It’s almost like he would rather lose 1-0 but win the possession battle than lose 2-0 because a risky attack was broken up by Arsenal and they score on a counter.
This style might work when you are playing Copenhagen in a knockout tie and you're ahead on goal difference, but when you're down a goal and even a draw could be vital to your top four hopes this style is useless. Hopefully Maresca and Chelsea do some serious soul searching during this international break.