West Ham 0-3 Chelsea: Frank Lampard's Blues are just mildly above average - The Warm-Up
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Updated 22/12/2020 at 08:59 GMT
Chelsea beat West Ham but are not particularly good. Mikel Arteta needs less fighters and probably more creators. A reminder Covid-19 is dangerous for everyone as evidenced by Allan Saint-Maximin and Jamaal Lascelles' diagnosis and associated long-term issues. Most importantly of all, Leon Goretzka has told it how it is.
Thiago Silva (R) celebrates with Chelsea's English midfielder Mason Mount (L) after scoring the opening goal of the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and West Ham
Image credit: Getty Images
TUESDAY'S BIG STORIES
Chelsea are not very good
On paper, a 3-0 win reads as a bit of a stroll. Yet, Chelsea's 3-0 win against West Ham was anything but.
The reason? The Stamford Bridge club are good but not very good and almost certainly not title challengers. Their three-goal success on Monday night flattered Frank Lampard's side. Granted, West Ham hardly dominated, but were, for large swathes of the game, the superior team. Lampard's men are proactive - or meant to be proactive - so allowing a side such as West Ham to dictate large swathes of the match speaks of a flawed team. A side likely to struggle against elite sides (more on that below).
Having taken the lead Chelsea very nearly worried themselves towards ceding that advantage as they seemed to wilt and retreat under the pressure of potentially losing a third game on the spin. The visitors thought they had levelled when Jarrod Bowen prodded home with 29 minutes gone and had their hosts pinned back for large portions of the second half. Tammy Abraham would capitalise on West Ham’s inability to turn their superiority into the hard currency of goals and his two efforts would put gloss on the score.
However, these are the sort of games a title challenger dominates.
In fact, to quote Chelsea manager Lampard's uncle Henry Redknapp, top, top, top, top teams do not - or consider to - wilt in the way Chelsea threatened to against West Ham. They are a good team, nothing more and nothing less. They sit fifth and that is about their level. The win against the Hammers, who sit in 10th, was their first win against a team in the top 10.
Arteta wants fighters but could do with a creator
Mikel Arteta talks a great game. And early on in his tenure at Arsenal, said talk seemed to have the desired effect. Arsenal won some games; they are now not winning games. Here is his latest chat - per the BBC - when asked what he did as a player when things went badly:
I liked to look around me, whether it’s the staff, coaches or players, and I wanted to see fighters, he said. Normally when [a bad run] happens you have two types of people: fighters and victims. You need fighters and you don’t want any victims. Victims bring excuses, victims bring negativity and they start to blame anything that is happening around them or is not going their way. You need people who fight, people who contribute and people who are ready to give everything to the club in this moment.
Stirring stuff. However, this misses the issue at Arsenal in its entirety. Arsenal's problem is a complete lack of creativity. Other teams have worked out that they can sit back and cede possession to Arsenal as they do not have the guile to unpick, well, practically any defence in the league. Hence their possession has become sterile in the extreme.
Instead of banging on about fighters, Arteta might be better served reintegrating Mesut Ozil, who for his apparent failings - spoiler alert: he is not lazy - has a near-unmatched body of evidence as an elite-level creator.
Get well soon Allan Saint-Maximin and Jamaal Lascelles
Allan Saint-Maximin and Jamaal Lascelles are suffering from the long-term effects of Covid-19, their club have confirmed.
Steve Bruce told a press conference that an unnamed pair of Newcastle players were still struggling with the effects of the virus.
"My thoughts are with the two players, and the welfare of them," he said.
It's frightening when you think they are young and fit and absolutely supreme athletes. If anybody needs reminding of how serious this is, then we have witnessed it. We've had vomiting, sores, mouth ulcers, no smell, no taste, but the big thing, and which is the worrying, is the welfare of one or two of them. It's not great at all. That long-term Covid is something which you wouldn't think possible in young, fit, athletes. Unfortunately, it is so.
"They go for a walk for half an hour and then they want to go back to bed. It's as brutal as that. The fatigue is the one thing that has hit them all. For two of them, it's beyond that. We hope there's light at the end of the tunnel, but some are finding it a struggle."
Bruce added that he was unsure when either player would return to action. Proof, as if it were needed, that Covid is a serious disease, and that fit and healthy athletes are not impervious to its serious effects.
Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Social distance.
Leon Goretzka speaking the truth
Leon Goretzka has spoken nothing but facts about Alternative für Deutschland.
"They are not an alternative for Germany, they're an embarrassment for Germany," he said in an interview per Welt am Sonntag.
"We have to make it clear to people that we live in a democracy that shouldn't be hurt by anybody or anything.
The insults I receive [for such a stance] motivate me to take an even clearer position.
It has ruffled some right-wing feathers. Facts do that.
RETRO CORNER
On this day in 1998, Zinedine Zidane collected the Balon d'Or. Here he is doing his thing. Balletic.
HAT-TIP
On Monday, Eurosport aired the documentary 'Loving Maradona'. It can be re-watched here.
COMING UP
There is some League Cup action. Brentford take on Newcastle and Arsenal face off against Manchester City.
Here tomorrow shall be Ben Snowball who is both a fighter and a creator.
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