Chelsea must overcome a 1-0 deficit when they face Spurs, live on Sky Sports, in Thursday's Carabao Cup semi-final second leg
Monday 4 May 2020 09:29, UK
Maurizio Sarri had a point about Chelsea's mentality but he also has questions to answer himself, writes Nick Wright.
It was clear that Maurizio Sarri meant business from the moment he strode into the press conference room at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening. The Chelsea manager took his seat and, instead of the usual pause before the opening question, announced that he would be speaking in his native Italian. "I want my message to be very clear," he explained.
He certainly succeeded on that front. In the remarkable attack on his players that followed, Sarri insisted Arsenal had been "far more determined" than his side and bemoaned Chelsea's lack of "ferocity". "This is something I can't accept," he continued. "It would appear that this group of players is extremely difficult to motivate."
Sarri's outburst was extraordinary but he was entitled to be angry. Out on the pitch, his Chelsea side had seemed overawed from the first minute. By the final whistle, the tracking data showed they had been outrun by a full five kilometres. Arsenal also won 69 individual duels to Chelsea's 54. The numbers underlined the gulf between the two sides in terms of application and endeavour.
Sarri has gambled by publicly criticising his players in such strong terms so early in his tenure, but you would be hard-pushed to argue that he does not have a point. This Chelsea squad have won Premier League titles, but they are also alarmingly prone to collapse. Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte would certainly testify to that.
"It's just a dressing room which can turn it on and off like a tap, it's been able to do that for years," said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. "Sarri has probably thought he's an experienced guy, he's been around the block, and thinks he doesn't need to take it."
Sarri must now hope for a positive response from his players, starting in Thursday's Carabao Cup semi-final against Tottenham, but his explosive comments should not shield him from scrutiny himself. The 59-year-old has been tasked with bringing 'Sarri-ball' to the Premier League but so far it has thrown up more questions than answers.
The football has been stodgy and the overriding feeling is that players are being crowbarred into a system which does not suit them. N'Golo Kante has been moved from his natural holding role to the right of three-man midfield to accommodate Jorginho. Chelsea fans have been similarly perplexed by Sarri's recent deployment of Eden Hazard as a false nine.
Sarri has not been helped by the absence of a top-class striker from his squad - an issue he hopes to remedy with the loan signing of Gonzalo Higuain from Juventus - but it has still been curious to see Hazard moved into a position he clearly does not relish while Olivier Giroud, a player he describes as "a pleasure to play with", kicks his heels on the bench.
It's not just Kante and Hazard, either. Sarri's 4-3-3 system has required a significant reshuffle at the back, with Marcos Alonso moving from left wing-back to full-back and Cesar Azpilicueta moving from right-sided centre-back to right-back. David Luiz, so often outstanding in the centre of a back three, is no longer afforded the same protection.
Sarri, though, has shown little appetite to change course.
So far this season, Chelsea have made just 29 line-up changes in 23 games - the second-fewest in the Premier League along with Wolves. Sarri's substitutions are often predictable, and from Callum Hudson-Odoi and Andreas Christensen to Ethan Ampadu and Danny Drinkwater, there is a long line of players who have been afforded little or no playing time.
Frustrated supporters would love to see Sarri relax his approach and adopt some flexibility in the face of adversity, but the reality is that that is unlikely to happen. He seldom deviated away from his favoured system and personnel at Napoli and there is no reason believe that will change now.
"I am a good teacher of this football," said Sarri after Saturday's game. "I don't think it would be a good idea if I try to teach my players a different type of football. There will be some changes perhaps, but there will be no massive upheaval."
Instead, Sarri will continue to do things his way, knowing the thrilling brand of football he implemented at Napoli is precisely the reason why he was brought to Chelsea in the first place. He might also be emboldened by how Manchester City and Liverpool have grasped Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp's ideas after difficult starts.
It seems Sarri still has the backing of his players - "Everybody is trusting his job and everybody is with him," said Luiz on Saturday - but what's less clear is whether there is patience at the top of the club. Roman Abramovich's finger is never far away from the trigger when it comes to managers. If the past tells us anything, it's that Sarri needs his vision to take shape quickly.
That won't be easy with an unbalanced squad which is still unsuited to his style, but Sarri's explosive comments at the Emirates Stadium suggests he knows he needs to see progress sooner rather than later. One way or the other, the prospects of 'Sarri-ball' succeeding at Chelsea will become clearer after Thursday's meeting with Spurs.
