Maresca’s approach stifles talent but drifting Sancho signals wider malaise

Jadon Sancho will go down in history as having been on the pitch at the Emirates Stadium. He was on the right wing, dressed in blue, watching closely as a tepid game unfolded around him. Yet whether Sancho was actually involved as Chelsea produced another monotonous performance in attack was debatable. After all, failing to register a single touch in the Arsenal box did not exactly suggest that this was a player in possession of the personality to lift a team weakened by the absence of their most important forward.

This was the Sancho who drifted along at Manchester United, never justifying his £73m fee. He looked callow every time he thought about taking on Arsenal’s 18-year-old left-back, Myles Lewis-Skelly. There was no mystery about why Sancho was nowhere near Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad. It was less that Lewis-Skelly won their battle after his first international call-up, more that there was never any prospect of Sancho having the wit, invention or speed to trouble the youngster.

It was not a good look. Sancho created no chances, made no key passes and had no shots before being replaced in the 76th minute. He was a powderpuff presence, an irrelevance, a mere afterthought. Chelsea needed him and Christopher Nkunku to be so much better after the blow of Cole Palmer injuring a muscle in training. One-nil wins have rarely been this comfortable. More than £1bn spent and the Cole Palmer FC tag still sticks.

This was desperate. Mikel Arteta was surely being disingenuous when he later described Chelsea as the best attacking side in the Premier League. There were times when it felt as if the sides had shaken on 1-0. An injury-hit Arsenal had summoned enough early intensity to expose deficiencies in Chelsea’s mentality and set-up, but they were below their best. Martin Ødegaard, who delivered the corner for Mikel Merino to catch out Robert Sánchez with a clever looping header, struggled to find his range. Gabriel Martinelli, just back from injury, ran out of steam. Sánchez flapped at crosses but Leandro Trossard failed to punish Chelsea’s erratic goalkeeper.

Yet Chelsea, whose failure to win an away game since 8 December has placed their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League in doubt, could not capitalise on Arsenal’s jitters. They finished with an xG of 0.35 and their only two shots on target came from their left-back, Marc Cucurella. Enzo Maresca’s approach again looked too robotic, too methodical. Pedro Neto plugged away as a false nine but Enzo Fernandez was petulant, Sancho was ineffective and Nkunku, who has scored three league goals this season, was wasted on the left.

In his defence Maresca was entitled to point out that Chelsea, who have scored three goals in their past seven away games, were without Palmer’s ingenuity, Nicolas Jackson’s directness and the width provided by Noni Madueke. Yet while Mykhailo Mudryk is also unavailable after failing a drug test, this bluntness is nothing new. It has become a pattern under Maresca. He preaches control and focuses on positional play but supporters are desperate for more dynamism.

There were chants of “attack, attack, attack” from the away end midway through the first half. In need of a goal, Chelsea brought on Tyrique George, a raw academy product, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, a baffling signing at £30m last summer. This is not merely about bad luck. It is not clear why Dewsbury-Hall is in this squad. Allowing João Félix to join Milan on loan in January also left Chelsea vulnerable to injuries.

Sancho is part of a wider malaise. Even so it is fair to question the 24-year-old’s long-term future. He made a promising start after joining Chelsea on loan with an obligation to buy last summer but his recent output has been disappointing. The goals and assists have dried up and he has had one shot on target in all competitions since Boxing Day. How long before Chelsea’s patience runs out? There is no sign of their recruitment slowing down. Two more South American teenagers, Willian Estêvão and Kendry Páez, arrive in the summer. A £42m deal has been agreed for the Sporting Lisbon winger Geovany Quenda to join in 2026.

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Sancho is under pressure. It would even not count as a major surprise were Chelsea to pay a penalty to cancel the obligation and send him back to United at the end of the season. Make him someone else’s problem. There is a lot of hype with Sancho and not much substance. It sums Chelsea up at the moment.

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