According to The Times, Chelsea's 1-2 defeat to Arsenal once again exposed the lack of control in the team's midfield. Rather than Enzo Fernández's departure, the player that Xabi Alonso truly misses most right now is Moises Caicedo, who is currently sidelined with injury.

Arsenal's winning goal came after a large gap opened up in Chelsea's midfield defensive line. Ødegaard was left unmarked at the edge of the penalty area, and no player tracked him in time, allowing him to deliver the decisive finish. At that moment, Alonso had moved Reece James up to midfield to partner with Lavia, but neither could fill that gap in time.

In the 60th minute, Alonso replaced Lavia with Gusto. As a result, Chelsea essentially played with two wing-backs operating in midfield for the remainder of the match. In contrast, Arsenal's bench still had experienced midfielders such as Bruno Guimarães, Zubimendi, and Merino ready to go, highlighting a significant difference in squad depth between the two teams.

Alonso refused to make excuses about injuries after the match. He said: "It's easy to blame missing players after a loss, but I don't want to do that. I'm happy with the players I have. Every manager has to deal with injuries and suspensions; it's impossible to have a full squad for every match. However, the players who are absent are top players, and with them, we would certainly be stronger."

It's tempting for outsiders to blame Chelsea for failing to sign a replacement after Enzo Fernández's departure. However, reports suggest that even if Enzo had remained, he may not have solved Chelsea's most pressing defensive issues.

What Chelsea really lacks is a defensive midfielder like Caicedo, who can cover vast areas of the pitch, block passes, regain possession, and fill gaps in time.

Alonso's current tactical approach inherently involves accepting some risk; he doesn't want his team defending deep for extended periods. Instead, he demands aggressive pressing, higher positioning, and an attempt to dominate the match. This style naturally leaves spaces behind, and Caicedo is precisely the player best suited to "clean up" these gaps in the team.

Currently, Chelsea has no true equivalent replacement in the squad.

Jordan Henderson, at 36 years old, is sidelined with a shoulder injury, and even when fit, he would struggle to cover the vast areas that Caicedo does. Dario Essugo, who joined from Sporting last summer, was initially seen as Caicedo's understudy but has failed to meet expectations and has been loaned to Strasbourg. The 21-year-old Barco is a completely different type of midfielder.

Caicedo's specific injury status has not been disclosed. In the final pre-season friendly against Real Sociedad, he played 76 minutes before missing Chelsea's opening Premier League match. In the match against Brighton, he came off the bench but was substituted after just 14 minutes. Alonso commented: "I don't want to make the same mistake again."

This also shows how cautious Chelsea is being with Caicedo's use. Since 2023, he has missed relatively few Chelsea matches due to injury, but from early 2026 onwards, physical issues have clearly increased. He was absent for an international break in October last year, and Maresca also mentioned a knee problem in December.

The Times believes that Chelsea's open style of play and current pace is partly due to Alonso being new to the job. Players' positioning off the ball still lacks sufficient sharpness, and there is often half a second of hesitation in defense—in top matches, that's enough to create significant gaps.

Alonso also acknowledged: "We have to do better, and we must learn from these matches because this is the highest level. Against top opponents, we need to be more efficient and precise in every phase of the match. But this is the stage we're at; this is only our third match in this new cycle."

Arsenal, by contrast, is very mature when out of possession, with defensive positioning, pressing, and compact defending almost instinctive—this is one of the biggest differences between the two teams currently.

Therefore, the report suggests that Chelsea will certainly need time to adapt to Alonso's new system, but in the short term, Caicedo is the player most capable of masking the structural issues in this system. As long as he remains absent, it will be very difficult to truly plug the defensive gaps in Chelsea's midfield.

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