Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Gary Neville questions Chelsea's 'all over the place' back three after defeat - but is confident they can finish top three
Chelsea suffered their first defeat under new manager Xabi Alonso, losing 2-1 to Arsenal; Gary Neville was critical of Chelsea's back three - but believes the Blues can finish second or third; Neville: "I'm as positive as I have been for three four five years about Chelsea."
Sunday 6 September 2026 20:58, UK
Gary Neville criticised Chelsea's "all over the place" back three in their Super Sunday defeat to Arsenal - but believes Xabi Alonso's side are capable of finshing second or third in the Premier League table.
Alonso suffered his first defeat as Chelsea manager at the hands of Premier League champions Arsenal, despite scoring first after just 77 seconds through Morgan Rogers.
Chelsea have now conceded seven goals in three Premier League games - and Neville says the Blues may need to sign more players in their defensive line in order to reach a new level.
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He told the Gary Neville Podcast: "The back three, when I watch them, it's almost like their legs aren't connected to their hips and the hips aren't connected to their bodies. It's almost like they're a bit all over the place.
"I look at the sort of best back three probably that I ever saw which was the Juventus and Italy back three with Andrea Barzagli, Leonard Bonnuci and Giorgio Chiellini - three real giants.
"They worked together as a three, they knew how to position themselves, they were great in the air, they knew how to push up and when to drop deeper. They organised the people in front of them.
"Maybe Chelsea will need to actually recruit more players as they move on through the next year or two with Xabi Alonso. He's done a lot already. He's just needs to get a back three that feels solid. They don't look solid, they look like they're a little bit all over the place. So that that's the main thing right now."
Neville did praise the rest of the Chelsea team though - including wing-backs Pedro Neto and Jorell Hato, and says they have a great midfield and forward line if they can keep their key players fit.
As a result, Neville believes Chelsea will at least finish third - and could strive for second place on the basis of their start under Alonso.
"I think they can finish second - third is the absolute lowest I can see Chelsea finishing," said Neville. "So that's really good. If you said that to me a year ago, I couldn't see where this project was going.
"I'm as positive as I have been for three four five years about Chelsea because I think they're going in the right direction. It's not perfect, they were always going to be [against Arsenal]. I wouldn't have expected them to win - but that was as good as I felt they could have done in the game.
"They can go home tonight thinking: 'yeah we can take that confidence out of that defeat'. That doesn't sound right does it, when you're at sort of the elite level?
"But I think that those Chelsea fans over there in the corner of the ground that have travelled from Stamford Bridge will be thinking: 'yeah I can buy into what I'm seeing. I like this.'"
Alonso: We need to address issues
Alonso admitted Chelsea need to find solutions to their defensive problems but stressed that it will take time to develop their solidity having only taken the job in May.
"My priority is to win games. Normally you win games when you don't concede many goals.
"It's something we need to address. We need to be tighter, more clinical, more balanced. But this takes time.
"We wanted to compete, win here. We knew we were not that far but it went their way. We could have scored for 2-1 and you never know what happens.
"The result is the result; I can't argue against that. But we need to take it, not happy. It hurts. Disappointed for sure. This is our first defeat.
"I want to compete in the best possible way to win. Today we didn't want to sit deep from the first minute. We want to be active, protagonists in the pressing. We have done many right things. We need to make it better, learn from them.
"When you play at the top level, we want to be as efficient in all the phases of the game. But this is where we are.
"It's game three or four for us in a new phase starting with Chelsea. I'm pleased with the spirit and attitude of the players. They worked hard."
