{"id":3801,"date":"2026-09-08T20:10:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T20:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=3801"},"modified":"2026-09-08T20:10:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T20:10:06","slug":"gary-neville-says-xabi-alonso-made-a-decision-during-chelsea-vs-arsenal-which-stunned-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=3801","title":{"rendered":"Gary Neville says Xabi Alonso made a decision during Chelsea vs Arsenal which stunned him"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Chelsea fought hard but were unable to beat Arsenal again on Sunday, and Gary Neville admitted a decision made by Xabi Alonso left him \u2018surprised\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Blues couldn\u2019t build on Morgan Rogers\u2019 early goal and eventually lost 2-1, and were left to rue a game where their unavailable players would have made a significant impact.<\/p>\n

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Moises Caicedo was unavailable for selection<\/a> due to injury, and is also set to miss the EFL Cup tie with Leeds United as he continues his recovery.<\/p>\n

Gary Neville shocked Xabi Alonso subbed off Romeo Lavia in Chelsea vs Arsenal<\/h2>\n

Alonso started Reece James alongside Romeo Lavia<\/a> in the heart of midfield, however the latter was taken off after 60 minutes for Malo Gusto.<\/p>\n

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Let\u2019s settle this, Chelsea are better off with Reece James at right-back\u2026 \ud83e\udd14<\/h3>\n

Do you prefer James in midfield or at right-back \u2013 and why?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Neville stated after the game that he was surprised to see the Belgian taken off, and believes he will form part of Chelsea\u2019s best midfield pairing.<\/p>\n

He told the Gary Neville podcast<\/a>: \u201cI thought Lavia played well. He was disappointed to go off and I was surprised to see him go off, but they don\u2019t want to lose him, maybe they thought, ok, well Gusto and James.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that will be a question. Look, if you\u2019ve got Caicedo and Lavia in there, I think Chelsea can have a very, very good midfield two. But keeping them two fit is going to be the question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alonso admitted during pre-season that Lavia had a mental block surrounding playing prolonged minutes<\/a> in a game, which may be behind the fact he is still yet to complete 90 minutes in the Premier League for them.<\/p>\n

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However, he has started all three league games this season, scoring his first goal for the club against Brighton too.<\/p>\n

It has been reported that Caicedo may not return until after the international break<\/a>, piling more pressure on Lavia to continue to perform in the coming games.<\/p>\n

This is perhaps why the boss has not been wanting to push him too hard, however he could address the issues by handing a proper opportunity to Valentin Barco.<\/p>\n

The Argentine has only started in the EFL Cup so far, although is likely to be handed in the EFL Cup against Leeds on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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