According to BBC Sport, Ashley Young believes Chelsea has strong attacking power, but lacks depth in midfield, to the point of having to deploy right-backs in midfield.

Current champions Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-1 at home on Sunday. In the match, Chelsea had Reece James and Malo Gusto, two players who began their careers as right-backs, playing in midfield. After Chelsea spent £349 million in the summer transfer window, the question of why they still found themselves in this situation became a focus of external scrutiny.

When Arsenal scored the winning goal at Emirates Stadium, it was Reece James who failed to mark Odegaard. Previously, Xavi Alonso had stated that James had the potential to become one of the best midfielders in the world. James performed well for the rest of the match, and last season spent nearly half his time playing in midfield.

However, even after Gusto replaced Lavia in the second half, questions remained about the depth of Chelsea's midfield. Odegaard's goal resulted from Chelsea's slack defending, and a lack of creativity on the bench also cost Chelsea, with Arteta's substitutions ultimately helping Arsenal secure victory.

Ashley Young told BBC Sport: "Chelsea don't have European football this season, so they have fewer matches and can focus on the Premier League. But the problem is that, at the end of the game against the current champions, you have two right-backs playing in midfield."

Young continued: "Look at Lavia, he's had many injuries this season. The attacking players will make the whole league nervous, but behind them, you see right-backs in midfield. Other teams will watch today's game and realize that Chelsea will drop deep and put men behind the ball, but there are still gaps in the middle, and Arsenal found them."

He also said: "Chelsea gave away too much possession and played counter-attacking football. Today they probably only had one real opportunity—João Félix's run down the right wing—to exploit a counter-attack."

The absence of Chelsea midfielder Caicedo is the main problem Xavi Alonso needs to resolve. Caicedo came on as a substitute against Brighton last week, played only 11 minutes before getting injured, and is expected to be sidelined for some time, though the exact duration of his absence remains unclear.

Apart from suspensions, Caicedo has missed only two matches in the last three seasons due to injury and illness. Xavi Alonso said about Caicedo: "It won't be for long, but the key is assessing the risk. We probably brought him back too soon last week, and I don't want to make the same mistake again."

It remains unclear whether Chelsea had concerns about Caicedo's fitness when pursuing multiple midfielders on transfer deadline day. Monaco's last-minute withdrawal from Chelsea's £47 million offer for Lamine Camara left Chelsea's hierarchy very frustrated.

Earlier this summer, Chelsea also made an offer of up to £64 million for Bournemouth's Alex Scott, but it was rejected. Chelsea also failed to sign French international Kouadio Koné after Roma manager Gasperini blocked the deal.

Chelsea stated that the pursuit of Camara was due to a market opportunity, and also said the club was satisfied with its summer operations and remained confident in its current squad. Although Chelsea sold Enzo Fernández for a Premier League transfer record of £125 million on the final day, the team did not sign a direct replacement.

With Caicedo out, both he and Henderson are on the injury list. Henderson is still recovering from an arm fracture he suffered when he fell on an advertising board as an unused substitute during the World Cup.

Valentin Barco, a natural midfielder who joined from Strasbourg this summer, was overtaken by Gusto in Chelsea's first three Premier League matches this season. In last weekend's 4-3 victory over Brighton, Chelsea played with Gusto in midfield and had just 25.6% possession, the lowest since records began in the 2003-04 season.

If all of Chelsea's midfield options remain healthy and Caicedo's injury proves to be minor, then five midfielders should be enough to manage the fixture list in a season without midweek European competition. Xavi Alonso expressed similar views before the match.

Chelsea's first three matches have relied mainly on Morgan Rogers, an in-form Palmer, and João Félix. The team conceded seven goals in three matches, and Xavi Alonso said: "We want to play more consistently."

Despite the defeat to Arsenal, Chelsea had many positives. The club's record signing, Rogers, scored in the second minute, becoming the first player since Eden Hazard in the 2018-19 season to be directly involved in a goal in each of Chelsea's first three Premier League matches of the season.

This was also perhaps one of Chelsea's best performances during their 10-game winless run against Arsenal. Chelsea finished 10th in the Premier League last season and still have a three-point gap to make up.

Xavi Alonso said after the match: "We came here to win. We knew the gap wasn't that big, but the result still went their way. It's painful, and of course disappointing. But this is just one defeat, it's a long road, and it won't have much impact on our emotions and mentality."

Arsenal remains the standard for Chelsea to chase. Although Chelsea signed 10 first-team players this summer, the fact that the team did not sign a midfielder on the final day of the transfer window may leave a potential weakness. Xavi Alonso described this summer as "phase one" earlier this week. If Chelsea's midfield problems are not resolved even after Caicedo's return, the club may face questions: why didn't we pursue a replacement for Enzo Fernández sooner?

Traduzido por IA.

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