Arsenal: Chelsea spiralling out of control more than just amusing

Chelsea are spiralling out of control with transfer bans, fans booing their own players, and an under-attack manager. But their craziness has an impact on Arsenal. It is more than just amusing.

If you haven’t read the news on Friday morning, you might not have realised, but Chelsea are in a real mess. The Blues have been banned from signing players in the next two transfer windows by FIFA for having allegedly breached rules involving youth players. Chelsea are set to appeal the ban.

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The news come after a rather torrid season. Maurizio Sarri was hired to replace Antonio Conte in the summer, though that took months to complete because Chelsea could not afford to pay Conte’s contract off.

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Sarri started brilliantly but has seen his team unravel. His use of N’Golo Kante has been curious, Eden Hazard has been left out to dry, the lack of centre-forwards has been a major issue, and Jorginho, who was so orchestratingly brilliant at the start of the year has seemingly been found out and is now being booed by his own fans.

Add to this the fact that Hazard will likely try to force an exit in the summer, Roman Abramovich is losing interest in the club and is reining back his bank-roll spending, and they are dealing with an ageing squad that is in serious need of some refreshment, and there are indeed great troubles brewing at the Bridge. Oh, and on top of it all, Sarri is expected to be sacked imminently, Chelsea continuing their renowned practice of giving managers time to instill their ideas.

As an Arsenal fan, it is very easy to simply sit back, watch Chelsea burn, and eat popcorn with a wide grin. But there is actually a footballing impact of Chelsea’s spiralling out of control that is worthy of consideration.

Arsenal’s business model very much depends on being in the Champions League essentially every season. This will be their second successive year out of Europe’s elite competition and their finances have paid the price. For every year that they fall out of the Champions League, the harder it is to keep up with the spending power of the Premier League rivals. Getting back into the biggest club competition in the world is vital for Unai Emery and the club.

Chelsea are one of Arsenal’s direct rivals for a top-four position. And not just this year. With six very good Premier League teams all chasing just four positions, it is just a fact that it will be difficult to finish in the top four every single year. The competitiveness of the Premier League is higher than ever, and that includes Chelsea.

With Chelsea in a tailspin, that potentially takes one of those six candidates out of the picture. Whether they can recover or not remains to be seen, but their demise undoubtedly helps the Gunners. Long may it continue.