‘His errors these days are causing us pains and it’s becoming unbearable’: Arteta VOW to drop £50m star against Sevilla in the UCL for costing Arsenal the three points against Chelsea

‘His errors these days are causing us pains and it’s becoming unbearable’: Arteta VOW to drop £50m star against Sevilla in the UCL for costing Arsenal the three points against Chelsea

Arsenal will be delighted to have snuck away from Stamford Bridge with their unbeaten Premier League record still intact, after a disappointing afternoon as they drew 2-2 with Chelsea.

“First half from us the worst we’ve played this season in terms of sloppiness,” Declan Rice would echo, whose impressive long-range effort kickstarted the comeback from two goals down.

It was a match that was always going to be decided through blunders, as for all the positivity of the home side, their quality seldom told. However, with the Gunners, whilst few can question their quality, they cannot afford for so many of their key players to go missing all at once.

It very nearly cost them the match, had Robert Sanchez’s gaffe not handed the 24-year-old the opportunity to half the deficit.

Overran by the energy of the Blues, and terrorised down the flanks by the raw pace of Raheem Sterling, Mauricio Pochettino deserves praise for how he set his team up, and how it negated the strengths of their visitors.

However, his job was made far easier by the performance of Jorginho, who once again struggled to compete with the physicality of such an all-action and impassioned affair.

How did Jorginho play vs Chelsea?
As a midfield conductor who thrives with time and space to pick passes, placing Conor Gallagher beside him marked a nightmare for the Italian.

Often lambasted for a lack of pace or urgency, he was harassed by the former Crystal Palace loanee, who made it so the 31-year-old could not calm proceedings down and establish the control Mikel Arteta craved. So often do his team seize possession and cease to release it, tiring out their opposition with combinations in the engine room.

That was an avenue they could not explore, with Jorginho’s failures a key component in those struggles.

Although the statistics might paint the picture of a dominant display, given he recorded a 91% pass accuracy and enjoyed 77 touches, that could not have been further from the truth.

The eight times he lost possession is perhaps more reflective of the torrid afternoon he endured, which journalist Simon Collings sought to detail in his post-match ratings. Writing for The Evening Standard, he gave the 48-cap dud a 4/10 rating before penning: “A poor performance from the Italian as he returned to his old club. Could not give Arsenal the control they wanted as Conor Gallagher hassled him non-stop.”

This was a notion further supported by news aggregator Connor Humm, who took to Twitter to lambast the £110k-per-week flop: “Jorginho running in treacle again. He’s so slow at recovering. Get Partey on for crying out loud.”

The 6.35 rating handed to him by WhoScored was a fair reflection of a tough return to the Bridge for the former Blues and Napoli metronome, who must surely see his starting spot under threat now with the options Arteta has at his disposal.

Who could replace Jorginho?
There are many options that the Spaniard could seek to explore in an effort to remove the sluggish presence from his midfield. After all, he has already proven himself as an innovative coach, and one who seeks to offer revolutionary progress to rival Pep Guardiola’s.

As such, there is every chance that Oleksandr Zinchenko could be moved there permanently, allowing the in-form and perhaps more orthodox Takehiro Tomiyasu to take up his full-back spot.

Then again, there are a whole host of actual midfielders in Kai Havertz, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe, all of whom would love to be handed that spot beside Rice.

However, the outstanding option, and one which Benn actually referenced earlier, must be to finally recall Thomas Partey and reintegrate him back into the first XI.

Having started the season in stuttering fashion, as he desperately sought to return to fitness, it seems that the Ghanaian general is now ready for action, but remains on the bench. A short cameo in their win over the Citizens marked his return, whilst he was an unused substitute both against Chelsea and in their loss to RC Lens in the Champions League.

His absence is a confusing one, given he can provide that same controlling presence that Jorginho supposedly offers, with far more physicality. After all, he surely proved that to everyone with his performances during last season’s title push.

How good is Thomas Partey?
“He is still important to them, for sure,” claimed pundit Lee Hendrie told Soccer Special on Sky Sports (03/10/23 at 7:40 pm) earlier this month. “He is a big player, no doubt about that. The two Rice and Partey can play in that middle. You give that freedom and luxury, more so, to Odegaard to really join in and be a massive threat (further forward).

“Yes, having him back amongst the squad. The availability, he is definitely a starter in my side for Arsenal.”