Chelsea interim manager Frank Lampard suggested that Arsenal’s recent success in the Premier League could serve as a model for Chelsea’s effort to rebuild following a dismal season.
Despite their new US owners’ significant investment, Chelsea’s 2-0 loss to Brentford last week left them in 12th place and on the verge of possibly having their worst season since finishing 14th under Glenn Hoddle in 1993-94.
Tuesday’s game pits Chelsea against an Arsenal team that, between 2016 and 2022, finished outside the top four six times in a row but is again involved in a heated title chase due to tremendous progress made under manager Mikel Arteta.
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“There is a long process in terms of getting to where you want to get to.
” I remember going up against Mikel in that early stage,” Lampard told reporters ahead of the trip to the Emirates Stadium.
“Sometimes they played five at the back, sometimes four; now they have a clear identity.
“There has been a lot of work through the team, Mikel, alignment and good recruitment.
“Do we have the possibility to do that? Yes.
Will it take time and good decisions? Absolutely, yes. But you can get there.
“The manager was being questioned, the players and owners were and that process can take two or three years. They are a great example of that done well.”
Despite acknowledging that Chelsea’s players are “low on confidence” as a result of their recent struggles, Lampard urged his team to work hard to make up for their lack of self-assurance.
“You can only work to get a level of performance to bring confidence back,” Lampard said.
“I’ve been here in moments where confidence has been low because nobody likes losing games.
“I had moments as a player where we dropped our standards as a collective and we had to lift it.
“Looking through history, we managed to get it back through hard work.
“We can only consider the future and work really hard to get the squad where we want it.”
Kalidou Koulibaly, a defender, may be “out for a while,” according to Lampard, after suffering a hamstring injury in the Champions League match against Real Madrid.