Chelsea have now suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premier League after losing 1-0 to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.
The Gunners have now won on their last three trips to west London, with Gabriel Magalhaes poking him the winner from a Bukayo Saka corner. The Blues struggled to gain control of the game with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang failing to make an impact as he faced Arsenal for the first time since leaving the Emirates Stadium in January.
Chelsea went into the clash with a number of injury issues after Kepa Arrizabalaga, Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, N'Golo Kante and Carney Chukwuemeka were all ruled out. The defeat was a painful one for Chelsea supporters, with Arsenal fans enjoying the bragging rights for another season, with Potter now needing to find a quick fix ahead of the World Cup with a Carabao Cup tie against Manchester City up next for the Blues.
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Speaking at half-time on BT Sport's coverage of Chelsea's defeat to Arsenal, Scott Parker highlighted the key area where the Blues struggled, which ultimately led to them losing to the Gunners at Stamford Bridge once again. Parker said: "A little surprising from Chelsea, I’m sure Graham will want a little more of the ball and try to get more control.
"It certainly looks like they want to go more longer and exploit Sterling, Havertz and Aubameyang. They’re probably going back to front quite in transition, they’re not pressing as well, so that’s creating that space.
"They’re playing against a team like Arsenal who will press and commit numbers. For sure, Graham would want more control in the first phase of play to try and exploit the space.
"Two against one with Partey and it looks like that’s exactly what Graham is trying to do with Havertz and Mount. But they’ve not had the patience in the build-up."
Speaking after the loss, Potter offered his own assessment of where the game was lost for Chelsea, admitting his team lacked 'fluidity'. The Blues manager said: "We played against a team in a really good moment. Credit to them. The boys gave everything.
"It was a huffing and puffing performance from us. Overall, Arsenal deserved to win and whilst the goal's a disappointing one, we haven’t got a complaint over the result.
"Arsenal are in a good moment and confidence, been working together for a long time. The effort was there, we were just beaten by the better team today."
Potter was particularly critical of how Chelsea let the Gunners take the lead whilst praising his opposing manager Mikel Arteta. The 44-year-old added: "It’s not a great goal from our perspective.
"It’s part of the team. We didn't function as fluidly as we’d have liked. They come in a good moment, good structure and Mikel has done a good job. What’s important, we understand where we’re at."
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