{"id":3517,"date":"2026-09-06T20:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T20:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=3517"},"modified":"2026-09-06T20:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T20:30:17","slug":"jamie-carragher-has-picked-up-on-a-problem-that-xabi-alonso-or-chelsea-fans-wont-want-to-admit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=3517","title":{"rendered":"Jamie Carragher has picked up on a problem that Xabi Alonso or Chelsea fans won’t want to admit"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Xabi Alonso\u2019s Chelsea put on a brave performance at Arsenal on Sunday, but Jamie Carragher has identified a problem with his old pal\u2019s side that even Alonso won\u2019t want to admit.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Morgan Rogers gave Chelsea<\/a> the lead inside a minute and a half on Sunday, and it had to be him. The man who picked Chelsea over Arsenal in the summer did a Thierry Henry celebration by the corner flag.<\/p>\n

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Another defeat to Arsenal but not the worst performance. Who was our best player? Who needs to improve?<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jamie Carragher\u2019s blunt verdict on Emi Martinez<\/h2>\n

Martinez<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the goalkeeper saves that two or three years ago,\u201d Carragher said. \u201cSanchez 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.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut he\u2019s not the goalkeeper that won the World Cup four years ago. It\u2019s not a mistake [to sign him]. It\u2019s a great deal for \u00a37.5m, he\u2019s a better goalkeeper than Sanchez and it will make everyone feel a bit better.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore confident. I always worry about goals like this [Havertz\u2019s goal], though. That\u2019s not a mistake; it\u2019s a goalkeeper who isn\u2019t quite as sharp or quick as he once was. That\u2019s just a goalkeeper not reacting quickly.<\/p>\n

\u201cMartinez has been a brilliant goalkeeper, and he still is a very good goalkeeper. But he\u2019s not the goalkeeper that won the World Cup four years ago, and that\u2019s [Havertz\u2019s goal] is a little insight into that.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

If Carragher is right, Chelsea could be back at square one<\/h2>\n

The Athletic feel the deal for Martinez is the best transfer of the summer,<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

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John Terry won\u2019t agree with his old England teammate<\/a>. The former Blues skipper, like The Athletic, said Martinez is the best signing of the summer. Terry and Martinez worked together at Aston Villa.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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