Chelsea could be the worst team in the Premier League right now.
That was the feeling after witnessing Frank Lampard’s side go 3-0 down to Arsenal after just 34 minutes at the Emirates Stadium.
A gutless first-half performance saw Chelsea brutalised by Mikel Arteta’s side, who are competing for the Premier League title but were winless in four matches.
Granit Xhaka produced a pair of near-identical cutbacks for Martin Odegaard to score the opening two goals - Lampard’s team exhibiting dismal defensive awareness. Chelsea then allowed Arsenal just four touches inside the box before Gabriel Jesus crashed in a third before half-time.
With the best will in the world, Lampard, currently the caretaker manager, has not been able to motivate this side. Chants of ‘Super Frankie Lampard’ rang out from inside the home end as the Arsenal supporters smelled weakness.
They saw a team incapable of competing and devoid of spark - as bad as a group of players wearing the Chelsea badge have looked in the Premier League era.
Chelsea’s problems come from their decision to bloat the squad to a staggering 32 players, leaving many unhappy, unfit or simply uncoached due to staffing levels.
Lampard also didn’t help his side by starting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to perhaps feed into a revenge narrative against Arteta.
The Gunners manager whom he fell out with just over 18 months ago had the last laugh after he failed to make an impact and was substituted at half-time.
In fairness, it was Aubameyang’s first start since November 6, but he came off having made just nine touches of the ball, four of those coming from kick-offs.
Like Aubameyang, Cesar Azpilicueta and Mateo Kovacic didn’t look fit. Meanwhile, others like Wesley Fofana and Ben Chilwell were fighting but overcommitted.
Noni Madueke didn’t look ready for this level in the first half but got his first Chelsea goal in the second after Kai Havertz helped the side attack more coherently.
Remarkably, Chelsea won the second half after Madueke’s goal and competed much better, but that largely also owed to several stunning saves by Kepa Arrizabalaga.
They showed that they have talent but their pride only came out after Lampard will have undoubtedly grilled them at half-time.
A decent 45-minute performance isn’t enough and has left Chelsea winless in eight. They’ve also lost all six of Lampard’s matches in charge and are leaving open the possibility of a highly improbable but not totally impossible relegation to the Championship.
Chelsea have lost 20 Premier League matches in a season for the first time and look set to break records for their lowest points and goals tallies in the coming weeks.
Total humiliation was avoided but it remains debatable whether this group of strangers without a game plan even wants to continue. That lack of desire and sense of embarrassment might mean they are now the worst team in the league.
