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Arsenal’s journey under Mikel Arteta has long been a reference point for Chelsea’s owners. It is part of the club’s shift towards youth and potential after the Roman Abramovich era. Chelsea have built with a long-term view and, seeing how Arteta has reversed Arsenal’s decline since his appointment as manager in December 2019, have been keen to find a young coach capable of becoming a similarly galvanising force at Stamford Bridge.
It is not an easy task. Chelsea briefly thought they had their rising star when they hired Graham Potter in September 2022, only for his reign to end after seven months. Now there is hope that Liam Rosenior can become Chelsea’s answer to Arteta. Rosenior is young, confident, talented and a little unconventional in the way he presents himself. It is early days but the 41-year-old has made an encouraging start, winning eight of his first 12 games, and has transmitted enough authority to keep jibes about his inexperience at bay so far.
Does he have it in him to match Arteta though? More pertinently, will he be given the time to succeed? Just over six years on from turning to Arteta after firing Unai Emery, Arsenal stand five points clear at the top of the Premier League before hosting Chelsea on Sunday. They have benefited from a stable environment. Rosenior, by contrast, is the fifth permanent head coach under the ownership of Clearlake Capital and Todd Boehly. Chelsea have had nine managers, including interims, during the Arteta era. It is impossible to ignore the upheaval when it comes to working out why Chelsea have not mustered a title challenge since winning the league in 2017.
They remain a strong cup team, capable of raising their level in one-off games, but the consistency required to keep up with Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City in the league has been lacking. Rosenior has already felt it. Chelsea have been at their careless worst in their past two league games, home draws with Burnley and Leeds the consequence of a repeated inability to stay focused and defend a lead in mature fashion.
Dropping 19 points from winning positions this season says a lot about the squad’s mentality. Rosenior has to tackle the listlessness. Behind closed doors he should make clear that he did not like Malo Gusto wasting a promising attack with a pointless no-look pass against Burnley. Chelsea cannot afford to be cocky. They have to be honest about where they are short. They have to acknowledge that they have a discipline problem. They have had eight red cards this season and were pegged back by Burnley – whose stoppage-time equaliser arrived when one of Rosenior’s players dozed off at a corner – after losing Wesley Fofana to a needless second yellow card.
The frustration is that there are times when Chelsea look like a serious team. They have beaten the champions of England, Italy, Spain and France in the past 12 months. They face Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League and it would not be a surprise if they went through. Chelsea are different in the big games. They have a daunting run-in but are not fearful of top opposition. The problem is more that they switch off when expected to win.
Rosenior has to lift standards. He has the youngest squad in the Premier League and needs time to instil good habits. Whether Rosenior lasts, though, will partly come down to whether Chelsea are capable of leaving the chaos behind. Can they hold their nerve when results dip? It is one thing to find your Arteta but another to stand by him when the pressure rises and fans are baying for blood.
It is worth remembering that it has not always been plain sailing for Arteta. The Spaniard was 37 when he replaced Emery and earned his first managerial role. He arrived with Arsenal struggling to move on from how the Arsène Wenger era fizzled out. There was a lot of damage to repair. The squad were a mess and although Arteta ended his first season on a high, winning the FA Cup thanks to surprise victories over City and Chelsea, it was not long before he was in danger of losing his job.
Arsenal were 15th and winless in seven league games before beating Frank Lampard’s Chelsea on Boxing Day in 2020. Arteta was in trouble. He needed Arsenal’s trust. Even then it was not until the second half of the 2021-22 season that Arteta’s vision truly became clear. Arsenal have had to fight their way to the top. They have also stuck with Arteta through three consecutive second-placed finishes. They have had to be resolute in their belief that he is the man to win their first title since 2004.
Arteta has driven the process. He is the manager, not the head coach, the individual knitting everything together. Arsenal have a sporting director but Arteta is the face of the club. There is no doubt about his power. Arsenal have thrown everything into winning now. They have targeted experienced, established players in an attempt to get over the line. They have filled holes that needed filling. Signing Martín Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyökeres and Eberechi Eze last summer gave them depth and quality in every position, while exposing a key point of difference with Chelsea’s model of centring recruitment around young talents who will need time to adapt to English football.
It remains an issue for Chelsea that, for every hit, there is a signing struggling to meet expectations. João Pedro has shone since signing from Brighton last summer but Liam Delap has been disappointing and Alejandro Garnacho is still the winger who blew hot and cold at Manchester United. There has been too much volatility. Erratic performances are not a surprise. Chelsea are still to prove that their project will work. Their bet is that hoovering up some of the best young talent in the world will give them a team to fear. They are convinced that their collaborative structure, with a head coaching working in tandem with five sporting directors, breeds stability.
Yet it will take more than handing Rosenior a six-and-a-half-year deal to show that Chelsea understand why Arteta has flourished at Arsenal. There will come a time when the heat rises. Chelsea’s faith in Rosenior will be tested. How will they react?
