Ian Wright fears Chelsea’s decision not to address a glaring weakness in their squad during the transfer window will impact their chances of competing for the Premier League title.
After another summer of upheaval at Stamford Bridge, a new-look team under the management of Xabi Alonso has emerged and made a promising start to the new season.
Victories over Fulham and Brighton with goals flowing for a formidable looking front three hinted at the potential Alonso has at his disposal.
Sunday’s London derby against Arsenal represented a chance to lay down a significant marker but the Blues came up short, falling to a narrow 2-1 defeat.
Exclusive Premier League previews
Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free.
With Moises Caicedo injured, Alonso and Chelsea ultimately finished the match with Malo Gusto as a makeshift central midfielder, while Arsenal were able to bring on World Cup winners Mikel Merino and Martin Zubimendi.
Having lost Enzo Fernandez on deadline day and lost Andrey Santos earlier in the summer, Wright believes Chelsea’s current midfield woes are of their own making and should’ve been addressed much earlier than the frantic scramble to recruit Lamine Camara from Monaco which ultimately proved fruitless.
Asked if Chelsea would threaten Arsenal’s supremacy at the top of the table, Wright told Sky Sports: ‘I think that their front three is going to cause a lot of people problems but I feel it is going to come down to the midfield.
‘I genuinely believe they probably would’ve known that Enzo was going to definitely go, Santos went earlier and they tried to get Lamine Camarra from Monaco at the end. They could’ve just done that earlier because Enzo was always going to go.
‘The only problem they will have is the midfield and the problems they may have with a couple of injuries from players in their midfield.
‘In respects of their team and the front guys they’ll be able to beat a lot of teams in the league and once they know exactly what he (Alonso) is doing.
‘When Xabi finished at Leverkusen they averaged 62% possession so they’re going to change, they will play in a different way and be a team that challenges up there.’
Asked for an update on Caicedo’s fitness ahead of Chelsea’s midweek Carabao Cup game against Leeds United, Alonso was cautiously optimistic.
He said: ‘Not longer term but it is about assessing the risk.
‘Probably last week we took him too early and I don’t want to take the same mistake again.’