Xabi Alonso has confirmed that Chelsea left Moises Caicedo out of the squad for the Arsenal derby after the midfielder failed to recover sufficiently from the problem that cut short his appearance against Brighton. Caicedo had missed Chelsea’s opening two matches with a knock before returning as a substitute against Brighton, but he lasted only 14 minutes before pain forced him off.
Alonso said Chelsea brought Caicedo back too soon against Brighton and now want to avoid aggravating the problem. Asked whether the injury could keep him out for an extended period, the Chelsea manager said: “Not longer term, but we talk about assessing the risk.” He added: “Probably last week [against Brighton], we took him too early, and I don’t want to make the same mistake.”
Caicedo consequently missed the trip to the Emirates, where Chelsea took the lead through Morgan Rogers inside two minutes. Arsenal responded through Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard to win 2-1 and leave Chelsea without one of their key midfielders.
Chelsea had alternatives in the position after failing to complete a Deadline Day move for Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara. Alonso named Valentin Barco, Jordan Henderson, Romeo Lavia and Reece James among his choices, while Malo Gusto, Reggie Watson and academy player Mahdi Nicoll-Jazuli could also feature.
“We have different qualities, personalities, like Valentin [Barco],” Alonso said. “He is young but he has come with great energy. We have Hendo [Jordan Henderson] — he has the composure, the mentality, he knows what is going on in the game so he is getting closer and closer to playing time.”
Alonso also included Lavia and James in his plans, with Gusto, Watson and Nicoll-Jazuli providing further possibilities. “With Romeo [Lavia], Reece [James] as well, even Malo [Gusto] can play, [Reggie] Watson as well, Mahdi [Nicoll-Jazuli] from the academy,” he said.
The Chelsea manager added: “We have options and we need to have the right balance, and we think that we have quality, competitiveness for all the season and to face each opponent.”
