Chelsea looked very shaky in the opening 45 minutes against Arsenal.
There were several calamities at the back – mainly involving Robert Sanchez – which the Blues were fortunate to escape from unpunished, although a header from Mikel Merino put Arsenal in control in the 20th minute.
Incidentally, the 20th minute also signalled the breaking of a record for Chelsea under Enzo Maresca – albeit an unwanted one.
Chelsea break new ground under Enzo Maresca
Worryingly for the Italian, his Chelsea side did not even manage to register a TOUCH inside Arsenal’s box within the opening 20 minutes at the Emirates Stadium.
Not since May 2023 have the Blues shown such extreme timidness in attack, which, coincidentally, came during a 3-1 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
With attacking talents such as Pedro Neto, Jadon Sancho, Christopher Nkunku and Enzo Fernandez in the frontline, that will surely worry Maresca, and also potentially make the 45-year-old feel his side are too reliant on Cole Palmer to make them tick.
There was little sign of improvement in the second half too – suggesting the Blues may well be becoming too reliant on Palmer, who Anthony Gordon wants at Newcastle.
Why did Cole Palmer not feature in Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea?
Many were left surprised when the England international was not even named on the bench for Sunday’s London derby.
Despite going ten games without a goal across all competitions, Palmer was not dropped by Maresca, but instead injured ahead of the trip to N5 – with reported tightness in his hamstring.
23/04 – Today is the first time Chelsea are without Cole Palmer in their starting XI for a Premier League game since 23 April 2024, when they lost 5-0 to Arsenal at the Emirates. Warning. pic.twitter.com/SWlFj6hmcJ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 16, 2025
Therefore, it remains to be seen if the Chelsea No.20 will link up with England for the upcoming international break, where he has been included in the squad by Thomas Tuchel for World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia.
Ultimately, Maresca will hope Palmer – who admires Mohammed Kudus – does not depart for international duty, or else he risks worsening his situation and missing more matches for Chelsea, ahead of the business end to the campaign.
