Some voices around Chelsea have drawn parallels between their aspirations with Liam Rosenior and Arsenal’s achievements under Mikel Arteta. They yearn for consistency, enduring success, and a distinct playing style.
However, there’s a caveat: Chelsea’s ambition to reclaim the Premier League title is fueled by their legacy of trophy collection, and this ambition leaves little room for patience if success isn’t promptly delivered.
Since Arteta took the helm at Arsenal in December 2019, Rosenior has become Chelsea’s ninth managerial appointment, including interim coaches. He is acutely aware of the expectations placed upon him.
“That’s why I embraced this challenge,” Rosenior expressed. “In football, time is granted through success, and it’s crucial to demonstrate capability. I hope this marks the end of instability for this club. I aspire to have a lasting tenure here and achieve the triumphs Chelsea deserves.”
In terms of playing style, Rosenior admits there’s still work to be done. While he aims to mold Chelsea into a high-pressing team akin to Arsenal, he acknowledged before their clash at the Emirates Stadium that implementing this dynamic approach hasn’t been immediate, and he provided his reasoning.
Rosenior said he has been tailoring his tactics because of a fear of fatigue and the injuries which would follow if he asked them to play precisely how he would like
Rosenior explained that he’s been cautious with his strategies due to concerns about player exhaustion and potential injuries, given Chelsea is about to embark on their 107th match since the previous season began.
That, he suggested, is partially why Arteta’s side have covered the greatest distance out of all the clubs in the Premier League this season – 1,988 miles in total – while Rosenior’s have covered the least – 1,773 miles. It was after Daily Mail Sport alerted the Blues boss to that statistic that he said it will come in time: ‘It’s really difficult. I know where I want this team to get to, in every aspect.
‘You always want to be at the top of every category. Arsenal are a very physical, very high pressing, high energy team. I want us to be high pressing and high energy as well.
‘That is something that you can’t solve in a short space of time. That comes over a period of months and hopefully years.’
The calendar is indeed weighing on Chelsea, with PFA chief Maheta Molango this week saying Cole Palmer and his team-mates were ‘shattered’ after visiting Cobham in the aftermath of the summer’s Club World Cup.
Rosenior continued: ‘It’s OK in your mind to say, “I want to play this way”. But you have to tailor that to the players, and their experiences, and where they are at this stage of the season.
‘You can’t come in and completely change their training schedule and what they are used to, because they will get injured. This is a longer term thing for me to address.
‘At the moment, my focus, and the way we work, is game by game, what’s best for these players to win. That’s how it’s going to be for the rest of the season.’
On Arteta, who is seeking his first silverware with Arsenal since the 2020 FA Cup, Rosenior added: ‘I have huge respect for Mikel. He is an outstanding guy and an outstanding coach.
‘To speak about my situation, I need to show improvements in this team in the short, medium and long term. If you show improvements in your team, the rest takes care of itself, and you end up winning the prizes that you want to win.’
One clip doing the rounds on social media after Chelsea’s disappointing draw with Burnley involved Malo Gusto attempting a no-look pass into the box as a promising move was wasted.
It appeared an ostentatious act, though Rosenior did not wish to publicly rebuke Gusto as he said: ‘I don’t like hanging players out to dry for one moment because Malo was very good in the game.’
Still, that moment suggested there is still a naive side to Chelsea as they take on an Arsenal team that have matured under Arteta and are now closing in on adding trophies to their cabinet.
