Chelsea defeat to Arsenal was 'painful' but Antonio Conte has larger problems than just defence, says Pat Nevin

Standard Sport28 September 2016

Former Chelsea winger Pat Nevin has called on Antonio Conte's Blues to protect their defenders after a 'painful' 3-0 defeat to London rivals Arsenal on Saturday.

Arsene Wenger's Gunners raced into a three-goal lead in the first half at the Emirates, with Gary Cahill making a catastrophic error for Alexis Sanchez's opener.

Chelsea's defence was torn open for Theo Walcott to add the second, before N'Golo Kante committed himself high up the pitch before Mesut Ozil combined with Sanchez to put the game beyond doubt.

The scoreline could have been far worse for Chelsea had Arsenal finished a number of second-half chances, but Nevin says Conte's team must work hard as a whole before laying the blame squarely at the defenders' door.

"There is no hiding from the fact that losing 3-0 to Arsenal is a hard one to take for the manager, the players and of course the fans as well," Nevin wrote for Chelsea's website. "It is particularly painful as Chelsea have had Arsenal under their spell for such a long time.

"The magic wasn’t there at the Emirates and there is no option but to get back on the training ground and work out where the problems are stemming from.

"It will not be an easy task for Antonio Conte, even if most people immediately look at the defence. When you have got into the habit of shipping goals when you didn’t used to (that is nine in four games during September) then the eyes are drawn in that direction. It is of course never that simple."

Eden Hazard complained about Chelsea's attack having to work harder every game to make up for the goals they were conceding, but the Belgian winger was partially culpable for the second goal as he failed to track Hector Bellerin on the flank.

In Pictures: Arsenal vs Chelsea

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Nevin said: "It might be the defence and Gary Cahill knows who was at fault for the first goal against Arsenal, but what about midfielders shielding those defenders?

"How about strikers tracking back when a full-back runs off them and what about overall work-rate compared to the opposition? It can be one, all or a combination of the above reasons.

"Personally, I do not think many players will have arguments about what Antonio Conte has to say this week. There have been problems, the players know this and it is his job to sort them out."

Chelsea fans' hopes of a title challenge have been damaged with just one point from the club's last three games, and Nevin added that the Blues' impressive start - taking nine points from their opening three matches - is no indicator of how the season will pan out.

"This could be the most difficult season for a while to gain a top-four finish in the Premier League," he said. "Even Manchester’s red team have embraced the fact you can’t have a Ferrari team without them having top-quality engines in this particular race.

"Wayne Rooney could join Yaya Toure among those who may only be impact replacements in this Formula 1 of a season.

"Chelsea know that this hunger is vital. The hope remains that with more rest available than most of the other big teams, the energy can match them.

"With this in mind I doubt Antonio will just be walking the players round the pitches at Cobham this week. There might be some hard running to do as well."

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