Chelsea
Chelsea

Chelsea lost their sixth straight game under Frank Lampard after a dreadful 3-1 loss against Arsenal. The Gunners bounced back from a 4-1 hammering at the hands of Manchester City with a superb performance at the Emirates Stadium, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Martin Odegaard scored a brace with two identical shots, and Gabriel Jesus added a third for Arsenal in a thrilling first half. Noni Madueke scored a consolation goal for the visitors, who had No.9 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang touch the ball nine times in 45 minutes on his Arsenal homecoming.

Chelsea
Chelsea have lost every game in all competitions including four Premier League defeats since Frank Lampard took over as the interim manager. Credits: Twitter

Chelsea face real threat of relegation under interim manager Lampard

While Mikel Arteta’s side reclaimed first place in the rankings, at least until Manchester City play West Ham on Wednesday, Lampard’s Chelsea dropped down one more place, going from eleventh to twelfth in the Premier League table. But it was more misery for Chelsea under club legend and interim manager Lampard, who has now lost every game he has taken charge of, dating back to the 8 April defeat to Wolves.

In reality, their most recent victory dates back to 11 March, when Chelsea defeated Leicester City at home. Chelsea are still mathematically not safe from relegation and are currently in 12th place, level on points with a Bournemouth side that has recently pushed away from danger.

However, if the season began on October 29, the Blues would be relegated, having collected only 18 points from 22 games during that time. Everton, who were managed by Lampard at the time, had only 16 points from the same number of games.

Chelsea were a disaster at the Emirates, with Arsenal mercilessly exploiting their numerous flaws. The Blues’ defence was a mess, with all three of the Gunners’ goals avoidable by the visiting backline. However, there was little sign of leadership in the Chelsea backline, allowing Arsenal to cruise to victory. The Blues were second-best not just in defence, but also in attack, with the visitors failing to trouble the Arsenal goal.

It took keeper Aaron Ramsdale until the 25th minute to make his first stop of the night. Chelsea now faces the very real threat of finishing in the bottom half of the table for the first time since 1996, and matters could go worse if their abysmal form continues, with the west Londoners finding themselves in the EFL Championship next season.

Chelsea’s summer spending spree will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst in Premier League history. None of their new acquisitions have impressed, and they were all humiliated by Arsenal in this humiliating defeat. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s first touch in the Arsenal half came after 43 minutes, with four of his previous touches being kick-offs. The summer signing from Barcelona also went without a shot after being alone against Arsenal’s defence.

Raheem Sterling, a £47.5 million acquisition from Manchester City, battled once more. He was the one who left Odegaard unmarked for the Norwegian’s second goal, as he completed only 53% of his passes. Chelsea return to play against Bournemouth on Saturday, when they meet 13th-placed Bournemouth, before hosting 18th-placed Nottingham Forest.

The west London club must also play the remaining top three, with games against Manchester United, Newcastle United, and Manchester United completing a challenging run-in before the end of the season. Todd Boehly, the club’s owner, has spent about £600 million since taking over, but Chelsea, with over 30 players in their team and four managers in the same season, are an unmitigated disaster.