Truth be told, this was originally going to be a piece about Nicolas Jackson and whether he could do a job as a left winger if Chelsea sign a striker this summer. But that was when it was 1-0.
Then it became 2-0, which was frustrating for Chelsea. Then 3-0, mildly embarrassing. Then 4-0, humiliating. Then 5-0, a certified capitulation in which one of the country’s most loyal followings decided they had seen enough, exiting the Emirates Stadium’s away end long before full-time.
Jackson and the left wing debate can wait for another day. After this loss to Arsenal, Chelsea have bigger problems that need addressing, and it is hard not to feel that they go beyond the manager.
That is not to say Mauricio Pochettino is blameless. Far from it. He cannot escape being held accountable for how Chelsea have crumbled into a steaming pile of price tags.
For how the defending was nonexistent for the short corner that Ben White scored from. For how Mykhailo Mudryk does not seem to know where to be and when in his system. For how this young team seem to emerge for second halves as if they have been sung a lullaby. For how in a division full of discernible styles of play, it is difficult to see what Chelsea are trying to do.
Reports emerged elsewhere on Tuesday that Pochettino will remain in charge for next season and they were premature, to say the least.
The plan was, and seemingly still is, to stage a summer review. Sources say the players ‘love’ Pochettino, but evenings as shameful as Chelsea suffering their heaviest-ever defeat by Arsenal will not help his cause with the Clearlake Capital ownership and sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart.
Yet while looking at the manager, those in charge must also assess their own strategy. They sacked Thomas Tuchel. They sacked Graham Potter. They might yet turn on Pochettino – someone who was hired for his reputation as a developer of young talent in spite of his Tottenham allegiance – and turn to another head coach in the hope that this time, they nail it.
Who would be willing to risk their reputation remains to be seen because thus far, this has only ever looked like a doomed recruitment model – one in which players such as Kai Havertz were sold to make way for greener youngsters. It did not go unnoticed that, unlike White’s two goals, Chelsea’s social media team did not namecheck Havertz when updating their millions of followers on his brace during this Emirates embarrassment.
Pochettino has spent much of this season calling for patience, insisting this team needs time to prosper. Chelsea’s line-up had an average age of 23 years and 169 days – their youngest ever for a Premier League match against Arsenal – and it showed over a miserable 90 minutes.
And now they are stuck. Stuck with young players, signed for significant sums and down to lifetime deals, whom they would struggle to shift for anything other than a loss. Stuck wondering what to do, where to turn, and whether this team will ever fulfil the potential they paid for.
Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile cost a combined £74m and only stopped conceding once 39-year-old Thiago Silva was introduced to form a back five in a switch that screamed damage limitation. Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez cost £221m and could not get close to anyone in red. Noni Madueke and Mudryk cost £117m and hardly had a sniff of goal. Jackson cost £32m and, despite showing glimpses of the good, we again witnessed the bad in his finishing.
Pochettino’s position will be scrutinised and rightly so, but he is only part of a wider problem that has left Chelsea facing yet another season without European football.
