Xabi Alonso's First Big Test as Chelsea Manager Against Arsenal
Xabi Alonso stands on the brink of his first real Premier League examination as Chelsea manager, and it comes at one of the most unforgiving venues in the country. Arsenal away. The Emirates. Sunday afternoon.
Two league wins from two have given his reign a clean, confident start, backed up by Carabao Cup progress against Luton Town. Now comes the hard question: does he stick with what’s worked, or twist for the biggest test yet?
At Cobham on Friday, Alonso kept his cards close but his message clear. Adapt or get found out.
“What we want is [that] we are able to adapt,” he said. “There will be games that we have a lot of possession, but we have struggled to score. I think that they defend in the low block, to have different tools, to have different ideas how to do it and to [have] different approaches is good.
“We are in early days, we have had two games, two wins. We are aware that we can do better, we want to do better… and I think that we will improve for sure.”
The words were measured. The decisions he faces are anything but simple.
Martinez back at the Emirates – and in the spotlight
One call looks straightforward. In goal, Emiliano Martinez is expected to continue as Chelsea’s No.1 against his former club.
He knows this pitch, this crowd, and the edge that comes with it. The Argentine rarely gets a warm welcome at the Emirates, and that is unlikely to change on Sunday. Chelsea may need the full, combative version of Martinez – the shot-stopper, the organiser, the wind‑up merchant – if they are to leave north London with anything.
Both Bobby Vincent and Jake Stokes see no reason to change here. Martinez stays between the posts.
Back three locked in – but one big temptation
Behind the scenes, Alonso has clearly settled early on a back three. Wesley Fofana, Maxence Lacroix and Levi Colwill have given Chelsea a solid base in the opening weeks, and both predicted XIs keep that trio intact.
Vincent leans slightly towards the idea of Josh Acheampong getting a look-in, but experience and knowhow, especially away at Arsenal, tilt the balance back towards Fofana. This is not the fixture to experiment for the sake of it.
So the spine remains: Fofana on the right of the three, Lacroix central, Colwill on the left. Continuity in the most important part of the pitch.
Wing-back dilemma: security or spark?
The real intrigue starts out wide.
On the right, Malo Gusto and Pedro Neto are jostling for the same shirt. Neto impressed in the previous outing, offering thrust and attacking threat from wing-back, but Vincent expects Alonso to lean on Gusto’s defensive security and balance.
Jake Stokes goes the other way. He sees Neto keeping his place on the right, with Alonso resisting the urge to shut up shop too early in such a high-profile game.
On the left, there is less debate. Jorrel Hato is backed to start by both writers, giving Chelsea a naturally left-sided outlet who can tuck in when Arsenal flood the flanks. Against Mikel Arteta’s side, those wide duels will decide long stretches of the contest.
Midfield hinges on Caicedo
Everything in the middle of the pitch swings on one name: Moises Caicedo.
Alonso wants him. Chelsea need him. But is he ready?
“If Moises Caicedo is fit, play him,” is Vincent’s blunt assessment. His predicted XI assumes Caicedo is not fully there yet, so he pairs Reece James with Romeo Lavia in central midfield. It is a bold call for James, who has spent most of his Chelsea career at right-back or wing-back, but his range of passing and physical presence could give Alonso a different kind of control in the engine room.
Stokes echoes the fitness concern. In his view, the “ideal world” sees Caicedo alongside James, but reality may intervene. He too expects Caicedo to be short of starting sharpness, which opens the door to a James-led midfield again, with Lavia as the more orthodox partner.
Then there is the wildcard: Valentin Barco. Stokes is particularly curious about the Argentine’s role off the bench. On the ball, Barco offers quality and composure; without it, he has not yet been fully exposed or tested in the Premier League’s most hostile environments. The Emirates would be a ruthless place to learn, but Alonso may not be able to resist using him if the game opens up.
Frontline picks itself – but the bench could bite
Up front, there is rare agreement and almost no debate.
Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro are expected to form the attacking trident again in north London. Palmer’s craft between the lines, Rogers’ energy and movement, and Joao Pedro’s ability to occupy centre-backs give Chelsea a fluid, mobile front line that suits Alonso’s early blueprint.
Vincent locks in that trio. Stokes calls it a frontline that “picks itself”.
The intrigue sits just behind them, in the shadows of the substitutes’ bench. Estevao Willian and Geovany Quenda are two names to watch if the game is still alive around the hour mark. Stokes would like to see more of both, and he goes as far as to say he would not be surprised if one of them ends up deciding the contest late on.
It is a tantalising thought: two young, fearless attackers thrown into a simmering London derby, with the Emirates on edge and the title hopefuls under pressure.
Two blueprints, one huge test
Strip it back, and the picture is clear. Alonso has a framework he trusts: Martinez behind a settled back three, wing-backs tailored to the opponent, a flexible midfield and a front line built on movement and intelligence.
The variables – Gusto or Neto, Caicedo’s fitness, Barco’s role, the timing of Estevao and Quenda – will say a lot about how brave he feels in this moment of truth.
Two games, two wins is a neat start. Arsenal away will show whether this Chelsea side is just finding its feet, or already ready to run with the league’s elite.
