Reece James has urged Chelsea to stay focused on their own progress after Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Chelsea made a flying start through Morgan Rogers, who scored after just 77 seconds, but Arsenal responded through Kai Havertz before Martin Odegaard completed the comeback after half-time.
The result ended Chelsea’s perfect start to the Premier League season and provided an early indication of the gap Xabi Alonso’s side still need to close on the defending champions.
James wants Chelsea to focus on themselves
Reece James of Chelsea (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Speaking after the defeat, James refused to make any sweeping conclusions about Chelsea’s title credentials this early in the campaign.
He said, as reported by Fabrizio Romano: “We’ll see where we are at the end of the season”.
“We know what we have to do and we have to focus on ourselves and not let other teams distract us”.
The captain’s message reflects a Chelsea side still adapting after another major summer overhaul.
Alonso’s team showed plenty of promise at the Emirates, particularly during the opening stages and again late in the match, but Arsenal’s greater control and experience ultimately proved decisive.
Reuters reported that Arsenal’s victory extended their unbeaten run against Chelsea to 12 matches in all competitions, while both Arsenal and Manchester City moved onto nine points from their opening three league games.
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James is right to keep expectations under control
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
James’ response is exactly what Chelsea need right now.
There will inevitably be questions about whether they are ready to challenge Arsenal and Manchester City after such an expensive summer, but three league matches is far too early to make a final judgement.
Chelsea demonstrated enough quality against Arsenal to suggest they can compete…
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