Arsenal vs Chelsea FC: 5 talking points from the match at Emirates
5. Fabregas’s return to Emirates, not a fruitful one
It may be due to the irrational ‘Boos’ from the Arsenal fans, but the Chelsea number 4 was not at his influential best on the pitch.
Fabregas was in his usual deep midfield position alongside Matic. He gave the ball away on a number of occasions which led the failure of promising Chelsea attacks. His passing was also not up to par, where some of his passes went in wayward directions.
He is not known for his defensive abilities, but when one has to play for Mourinho, he has to develop that aspect of his game. Defensively also, Fabregas was not at his best, where his misplaced tackles gave cheap free kicks to Arsenal from dangerous positions.
He is still leading the assist charts by a huge margin (16) where his closest competitor is Di Maria with 6 assists less than him. But, it may be a concern for Jose regarding the Spaniard’s dip in form, post new year. He is still one of the players of the season for Chelsea, but he does seem a bit leggy in these latter stages of the season.