Gary Neville says Chelsea have a Thiago Silva ‘problem’ they must solve

Gary Neville says Chelsea must solve Thiago Silva’s issue

Former Manchester United player Gary Neville highlighted key Chelsea problems following their 2-2 draw with Arsenal and believed that the Blues soon need to find a replacement for Thiago Silva, who is 39 currently.

However, not many expected Chelsea to outclass the Gunners, knowing the Mikel Arteta side has been in top form and recently defeated Manchester City 1-0.

Chelsea completely outmanoeuvred the Gunners and had the chance to wrap up the game before they conceded two goals. A mistake from Robert Sanchez led to the Gunners’ comeback, whose poor pass saw Declan Rice capitalise as he curled the ball into an empty net.

Chelsea had numerous opportunities to extend their lead but failed to take advantage of them; if they had, the Blues would have been 4-0. Subsequently, Chelsea regretted not taking their chances as Arsenal came from behind.

Now the former United captain Neville has pointed out three areas where the Blues needs to reinforce. (h/t Mirror), Speaking to Sky Sports, he said:

“Chelsea have shown a blueprint of what the future could look like. They’ve still got a problem up front; they haven’t got a striker, and I still think they’ve got a problem with Thiago Silva’s age. He’s so important for them, but he is 39. And then the goalkeeper… Can he step up to be a good goalkeeper?’’

The way Mauricio Pochettino has implemented his concept so quickly, considering that we are just three months into the season, is quite astounding. We should have won the game by a wide margin because we played exceptionally well against the Premier League favourites this season.

More Chelsea News

• Pat Nevin impressed by Raheem Sterling who caused several problems for Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko
• Pat Nevin highlights Robert Sanchez whose bad pass led to Arsenal’s comeback against Chelsea
• Cole Palmer is discontent with the result after Arsenal fought back to secure a 2-2 draw against Chelsea

Sanchez’s bad performance was the reason Arsenal staged a comeback, as Neville claimed, but he will certainly work on it. We will undoubtedly need to find a replacement for Thiago Silva, who is 39 but doesn’t appear to be due to the way he performs and remains indispensable for us. We currently have enough backup defenders to cover his position, so let’s see if Chelsea will look for a successor if he decides to leave the club after the current season.