Jamie Carragher has picked up on a problem that Xabi Alonso or Chelsea fans won’t want to admit

Another defeat to Arsenal but not the worst performance. Who was our best player? Who needs to improve?

It lit the fixture up; a hotly contested battle that eventually resulted in Arsenal winning 2-1. Kai Havertz, one of many players to play for both clubs, equalised before Martin Odegaard scored a lovely winner.

Chelsea can take plenty of positives from the performance, but that is now seven goals conceded in three Premier League games. While they might have scored eight, it is causing concern for Jamie Carragher.

Jamie Carragher’s blunt verdict on Emi Martinez

Martinez had a brilliant game for Chelsea. The Argentine made stop after stop to deny Arsenal, pulling off a magnificent save when Chelsea were 2-1 down. However, he was beaten at his near post by Havertz.

On Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher claimed Martinez is not the goalkeeper he was four years ago, when he produced one of the best goalkeeping bouts of form to help Argentina win the 2022 World Cup.

“I think the goalkeeper saves that two or three years ago,” Carragher said. “Sanchez is a good goalkeeper, not a great one. So you go and get someone who has been a great goalkeeper; many still think he is.

“But he’s not the goalkeeper that won the World Cup four years ago. It’s not a mistake [to sign him]. It’s a great deal for £7.5m, he’s a better goalkeeper than Sanchez and it will make everyone feel a bit better.

“More confident. I always worry about goals like this [Havertz’s goal], though. That’s not a mistake; it’s a goalkeeper who isn’t quite as sharp or quick as he once was. That’s just a goalkeeper not reacting quickly.

“Martinez has been a brilliant goalkeeper, and he still is a very good goalkeeper. But he’s not the goalkeeper that won the World Cup four years ago, and that’s [Havertz’s goal] is a little insight into that.”

It’s not something anyone of a Chelsea persuasion will want to admit, but Carragher might be right. No Chelsea fan will want to admit that they might still have a problem, after years with Robert Sanchez.

If Carragher is right, Chelsea could be back at square one

The Athletic feel the deal for Martinez is the best transfer of the summer, in terms of value for money and for the quality of the player received. But Carragher could be onto something; his best years are over.

John Terry won’t agree with his old England teammate. The former Blues skipper, like The Athletic, said Martinez is the best signing of the summer. Terry and Martinez worked together at Aston Villa.

It has to be said, even if many will feel none of the five goals were his doing, that Martinez has now let in five goals in two games for Chelsea. The flow of goals has not stopped simply by replacing Sanchez.

If Martinez fails to produce the level that is expected of him by fans, himself and Chelsea as a club, the Blues will find themselves back at square one when the belief was that they had sorted out the position.