Chelsea's 2-1 defeat by champions Arsenal on Sunday exposed midfield weaknesses, with the club ending the match with two natural right-backs, Reece James and Malo Gusto, playing in central midfield. This has raised questions about the depth of Xabi Alonso's squad despite spending £349m in the summer transfer window, particularly given James's lapse in marking Martin Odegaard for Arsenal's winning goal at the Emirates.

The main cause of the shortage is an injury to Moises Caicedo, who broke down 11 minutes into a substitute appearance against Brighton and joins Jordan Henderson on the sidelines. Chelsea missed out on strengthening the position on deadline day, losing a £47m move for Monaco's Lamine Camara and failing with bids of up to £64m for Alex Scott, while also selling Enzo Fernandez to Manchester City for £125m without a direct replacement. With Gusto deployed in midfield, Chelsea managed just 25.6% possession against Brighton, their lowest since records began in 2003-04, prompting former player Ashley Young to warn that gaps between the lines could be exploited by better sides.