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LONDON. — Jose Mourinho admits he is starting to feel the strain of Chelsea’s inconsistent form as his side head to Arsenal for a crucial clash against the English Premier League soccer leaders.
Mourinho is growing increasingly vexed by the misfiring form of Chelsea’s strikers and the Blues boss has so far been unable to find a solution to a problem that threatens to wreck the team’s challenge for the title.
Fernando Torres, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba have scored just five league goals between them this term, leaving Mourinho under pressure to resolve the issue by making a signing in the January transfer market.
A host of players including Zenit Saint Petersburg striker Hulk and Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa have been linked with Chelsea, but Mourinho must make do and mend until then, starting with the most significant match of the season to date at the Emirates Stadium on Monday night.
While a win for second-placed Liverpool over Cardiff at Anfield today would knock Arsenal off the top, the result of the London derby between the Gunners and Chelsea will been seen as an indication of which club is more likely to last the pace in the title race.
A win for Arsenal would take them five points clear of third-placed Chelsea, who have already lost seven times in all competitions this season, and deepen the sense of gloom at Stamford Bridge following their surprise League Cup quarter-final defeat at struggling Sunderland in midweek.
In the circumstances, Mourinho could do with his strikers finally finding their shooting boots and he said: “Missing goals. It’s always the same words. It’s unbelievable.
“Even on the bench, I feel every time we miss a chance and the score is 0-0, 1-0, 2-1, 1-1, I feel the pressure.
I feel that missing the chances, maybe later you are punished. We have this problem.
“In every match we lost in England, in the Premier League and in the cup at Sunderland, we were the best team by far.
“We create, we enjoy the ball, we were always very comfortable on the pitch, we had unbelievable chances to score to kill the game. We don’t do it.”
Arsenal will be without England midfielder Jack Wilshere on Monday after he was handed a two-game suspension for making an offensive gesture at Manchester City fans during last weekend’s 6-3 thrashing.
That humbling result raised questions about Arsenal’s ability to maintain their title challenge and the likely absence of French defender Laurent Koscielny, who suffered a deep gash in his knee just before half-time at Eastlands, is a further blow for Arsene Wenger’s side.
Fixtures
Today (all 5pm unless stated): Crystal Palace v Newcastle, Fulham v Manchester City, Liverpool v Cardiff (2:45pm), Manchester United v West Ham, Stoke v Aston Villa, Sunderland v Norwich, West Brom v Hull
Tomorrow: Southampton v Tottenham (3:30pm), Swansea v Everton (6pm)
Monday: Arsenal v Chelsea (10pm). — AFP.
Peter Tanyanyiwa
Online Reporter