A lot of fun was had on Chelsea Twitter when Mikel Arteta decided to cry foul on Arsenal's fixture schedule following last month's defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League.
"Thank you very much to the Premier League... it's not fair what they've done." The Arsenal boss cried. Of course, Arteta needed quick reminding of how comparatively light Arsenal's fixture schedule has been this season. No European football to speak of, knocked out of the FA Cup at the third round stage, the most taxing thing to contend with was a Carabao Cup semi-final.
When you contrast that with Chelsea, whose 6-0 win over Southampton was the Blues 22nd game in 2022, the 52nd in the entirety of 2022. And when you factor in how Thomas Tuchel has had to readjust his plans after devastating injuries, Arteta's recent complaints should not be taken that seriously. (Do I even need to bring up the fiasco that was Arsenal getting their game with Spurs called off?)
READ MORE: Chelsea's next six Premier League fixtures compared to Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal
Tuchel has been operating for over half of this season without his first-choice wingback Ben Chilwell. Injured in November against Juventus and has missed 32 games since his season-ending ACL tear. Almost the entirety of a Premier League campaign.
Anyone who has watched Chelsea closely under Tuchel understands how vital Chilwell is to the way the Blues build-up play, use the width of the pitch and create overloads in the attack. All these traits were on show preceding his injury.
But without Chilwell to call on, and a demanding schedule, Tuchel has tried all types of options in that role. The naturally suited Marcos Alonso, wingers Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic. Even Saul Niguez getting a few outings to cover.
Even with Reece James back fit, his hamstring injury in December kept him out till early March, meaning he has played under 20 league games this season. Like Chilwell, James has become a vital cog in the way Chelsea flow and create chances.
Arteta has suddenly found himself in the previous two games without his two first-choice fullbacks in Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu and the Gunners have suddenly lost two games to Crystal Palace and Brighton, severely denting their Champions League qualification hopes.
With Tierney ruled out for the season and Tomiyasu racing to get back for the clash at Stamford Bridge on the 20th of April, Arsenal are realising without your favoured fullbacks, your natural game is severely hamstrung.
And this sudden injury crisis has occurred when Arsenal have the insurmountable hurdle of *checks notes* one game a week. Who knows how they'd cope with more? Luckily, Chelsea have got Thomas Tuchel.
