Chelsea have been told that they must allow Graham Potter time to fulfil his vision at Chelsea despite their current terrible run of form in the Premier League.
That's according to former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit, who says that the Blues must follow the example of the trust shown in Mikel Arteta by Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke. The Spaniard endured a tough start to life ion north London, failing to qualify for the Champions League in his first three seasons before leading the title race this term.
Potter has been brought in by Todd Boehly to implement his long-term vision at the club, but recent results have been less than inspiring and could lead to a change of approach. Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham extended Chelsea's winless run in the Premier League to six matches, with three successive defeats in that time.
READ MORE: Todd Boehly hands Graham Potter 'sacking timeline' as Chelsea dressing room question 'concerned'
They currently sit tenth in the table but Petit believes Potter should be given more time to implement his vision with the ex-France international praising Arsenal's turnaround under Arteta, saying that it's the best Gunners side he has seen since Arsene Wenger left in 2018. The parallels with Potter are clear, with Arsenal finishing eighth in Arteta's first two seasons in charge before a fifth place finish last campaign prior to this season's elevation to the top of the Premier League.
The World Cup winning midfielder told Premier League Odds: "This is the best Arsenal team I’ve seen in a long time, for sure. I still have memories of when Wenger left the club, they declined for years and years and they dropped down the table and didn’t play European competition anymore.
"They’re playing in the Europa League but Arsenal must come back to the Champions League. I’m very happy with how Arteta has transformed them mentally.
"It’s related to Graham Potter at Chelsea. When you have a manager with a vision you have to respect it and they showed all the support behind the manager and this is very important."
Chelsea have won just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions and haven't recorded a victory away from home since October. football.london understands that Boehly and Behdad Eghbali - for now - remain in support of Potter staying on as manager but there is no doubt that the pressure will intensify unless results improve before the March international break.
Arteta was asked about Potter's position at his midweek press conference and said: "We are colleagues and we all know the pressure, the demands and the uncertainty this industry has and as well because the fact the ball has to go into that net and there are sometimes many factors that prevent that which you cannot control. So of course you empathise because you suffer, because you know how it is going through those moments."
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