Kepa Arrizabalaga won’t have had many better days under Frank Lampard. At the end of a week when the goalkeeper’s epitaph was written, Chelsea’s back four did their best to fight his corner.

If anyone was unsure how deep their defensive rot has set in, a calamitous opening 27 minutes proved beyond doubt that Kepa’s floundering frailties sit only atop a lengthy list of problems.

There was nothing Willy Caballero could do to stop Chelsea gift-wrapping West Bromwich a 3-0 lead. A spirited comeback partially masked the cracks and illustrated why even the most expensive forward lines are only as good as the foundations beneath.

If £22million keeper Edouard Mendy is to make the difference, he and Chelsea’s technical adviser Petr Cech have a job on their hands. ‘We know we’ve had problems in the goalkeeping area,’ Lampard said. ‘Having Petr train with them and bring his experience is a great thing.’

Given Lampard has played with some fine defenders, such as John Terry (now a coach at Aston Villa) and Ricardo Carvalho (assistant to Andre Villas-Boas at Marseille), would he consider using their knowledge to help his back four? ‘No,’ Lampard said.

After this draw, the Chelsea boss deserves some sympathy. First Marcos Alonso’s risky header led to Callum Robinson’s early opener. Then Thiago Silva’s heavy touch gifted West Bromwich a second before Chelsea suffered another set-piece glitch as Kyle Bartley made it three.

‘You can’t legislate for pure mistakes,’ Lampard said. ‘You can do as many meetings as you want but if you’re going to make those mistakes, you give yourself a mountain to climb. We were punished. We showed great character but at the same time (3-0 down) is not a position you want to be in.’

Lampard did little to mask his frustration with Alonso, who is surely walking the plank until left back Ben Chilwell is fully fit. Skipper Silva’s Premier League debut included 45 disastrous minutes, but the 36-year-old’s pedigree should shine through as his English improves. ‘People are going to want to talk about the second goal and that’s fair play,’ Lampard said. ‘Other than that, we saw how he is, his leadership and his qualities.’

Silva was a shrewd free signing but elsewhere Chelsea have tried to spend away their problems. Still Lampard pleads for patience, insisting injuries and the lack of a pre-season mean his team need time. True, but eventually excuses will wear thin and attention will turn his way.

Defensive chaos has characterised his 14 months in charge. In 21 Premier League away games, Chelsea have kept only one clean sheet, despite trying different personnel and formations. Or because of, perhaps?

Should problems persist, questions will be asked as to whether individual errors are a symptom of systemic failings; whether Lampard, rather than his players, must shoulder the responsibility for their frailties and why they aren’t being ironed out in training.

The coming months should define the direction in which he and Chelsea move. If his new signings prove that calamity is contagious, will Lampard change tack again?

Maybe then he’ll dig out his contacts book and call on help from one of his old friends

Titles, Champions League football and ‘legend’ status. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is setting his targets high at Arsenal after signing a new three-year deal with the club.

Fresh from his contract renewal and ahead of Arsenal’s trip to Liverpool on Monday Night Football, Aubameyang has told Sky Sports:

Talisman Auba hails Arteta’s tidying-up operation

Aubameyang has, of course, been at the heart of Arsenal’s revival under the stewardship of Arteta.

Of the five goals Arsenal scored in their recent Wembley defeats of Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool to win the FA Cup and Community Shield, Aubameyang scored all of them.

But the 31-year-old has credited Arteta as the inspiration of the turnaround – and the instant, if unconventional, impact he made on the Gunners’ faltering squad.

“When he came, the first day, we were in a room where I remember there were some chairs on the floor, everywhere in the room. So he brings the players, the staff and all the people working here and he said ‘this is the club right now, so you’re going to work altogether and first of all, clean this room, and then we’re going to talk.’

“After this you think ‘OK, I think he’s right, and we’re going to follow this way’ and this is how he made it and we have a lot of respect for him because he was a player as well. When you have a coach who knows what they’re doing, you just have to follow.”

The striker has also stressed that, but for Arteta’s arrival and impact, it was likely he would have left the club this summer.

“Two things persuaded me to stay,” he said. “The first thing was Mikel Arteta, because since he came in he brings a lot of positivity and a new philosophy for us.

“I think that was important because it matched my game and I feel that I can improve with him. I think this was the key factor and as well, the love that I receive from the fans and the whole club.”

Arsenal’s ambitions for new season revealed

Arsenal’s unexpected FA Cup triumph has whetted Aubameyang’s appetite for further success this season. But what exactly would constitute a successful season for an Arsenal team which endured their lowest top-flight finish in 25 years in 2019/20?

“When you win trophies, you want to win more trophies and this is what it’s about. We want to compete, first of all for the league, I think this is the biggest point. We want to be back in the Champions League, we have to stay humble for sure. We cannot pretend to choose to play for the first place but we want to be part of the teams to compete for the first place and as I say, to stay humble and work hard and in the end try our best to win more trophies.”

Arsenal have failed to qualify for the Champions League since 2017 and a top-four finish is naturally uppermost in the club’s immediate ambitions.

“I think everyone has one goal – to go forward and bring back the club to where it belongs. It’s now a few years since we’ve played in the Champions League, for example, and for me and all the club, it hurts – not just a little bit but a lot.”

Can Aubameyang become a legend at Arsenal?

Aubameyang’s decision to stay at Arsenal despite an offer from Barcelona is in stark contrast to recent summer narratives at the Emirates and the departures of the likes of Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas.

So what does Aubameyang feel it would take to attain legendary status to stand alongside recent greats such as Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp?

The scale of his ambition is clear.

“Hopefully win a league. I think this is very easy to answer but for sure, yeah, I need to win the league but I still have work to do and I feel far from those legends, but at the same time I know that I can reach it.”

Arsenal travel to Liverpool ‘without fear’

Arsenal have started the new campaign in encouraging fashion. Following their Community Shield victory over Liverpool, albeit one that was secured on penalties, an opening-day win at Fulham, complete with an Aubameyang special into the top corner, was followed by a somewhat fortuitous defeat of West Ham. Now for the hardest assignment in the Premier League: a trip to the home of the champions.

But as far as Aubameyang is concerned, the challenge that awaits will reveal exactly how far Arsenal have come under Arteta.

“It’s still early in the season but it’s a big game and we’re going to see how we compete against this big team.

“It’s a big test but we’re going to see if we’re ready to compete for the Premier League.

“I think, of course, we start the game with confidence but also we know, we’re going there and it’s not going to be easy but I think now we can go without fear and go to win the game.”

Schalke have sacked manager David Wagner after his side conceded 11 goals in their opening two games of the 2020/21 Bundesliga campaign.

Schalke were thrashed 8-0 by last season’s champions Bayern Munich in their first game last weekend and suffered a 3-1 loss against Werder Bremen on Saturday.

“We had all hoped that we could improve on the pitch together with David Wagner,” Schalke sports director Jochen Schneider said.

“Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the right performances and results from the first two games… for this to happen.

“We have therefore decided to make a fresh start. Despite the disappointing results, this wasn’t an easy decision for us to make.”

Schalke, who are without a win in their last 18 league games, said in a statement that Wagner’s assistants Christoph Buhler and Frank Frohling are also leaving the club.

Wagner, 48, joined Schalke in 2019 after more than three years in charge of Huddersfield Town, where he oversaw their promotion to the Premier League in 2016/17.

His side started well last season as they moved into Champions League contention with only three defeats in 17 games.

But the dramatic loss of form in the second half of the season saw Schalke finish 12th in the German top-flight, eight points above the relegation play-off spot.

The Ruhr district club are currently bottom of the division this season with a -10 goal difference after their first two games.

Chelsea have been hugely busy throughout the summer transfer window. North of £200 million has been spent on a vast number of key players, including offensive reinforcements in Timo Werner, Hakim Ziyech, and Kai Havertz, a new left-back thanks to Ben Chilwell, and a Kepa Arrizabalaga replacement in the form of Edouard Mendy, which was officially announced this week.

However, with more than a week remaining in the transfer window, there is still much work for the Blues to do, including potential reinforcements in central midfield and a whole host of sales.

Frank Lampard has been keen to add elite-level talent to his squad, but now the numbers must be trimmed before the deadline.

No team has spent more than Chelsea thus far, and while Roman Abramovic is happy to bankroll such investment, Lampard cannot keep every player happy, as has been noticeable in the first two weeks of the season already.

Here is a round-up of the latest Chelsea transfer rumours.

Kante open to Chelsea exit

Following Antonio Conte’s departure from Stamford Bridge two years ago, N’Golo Kante has not been handed an integral role in the Chelsea midfield.

Moved into a box-to-box role by Maurizio Sarri and not always a consistent starter under Lampard, the French World Cup winner has rarely played in his best-suited defensive midfield position.

And now there are rumours linking him with a Chelsea exit and a reunion with Conte, who got the best out of the midfielder. According to Gazzetta dello Sport via Sports Mole, Kante is open to a move to Inter Milan, where Conte is the manager.

The report claims that Inter have been informed that a £46million offer is necessary to prise Kante away from Chelsea.

Chelsea have been linked with a move for West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice, but need to make sales to complete a transfer for the Englishman.

PSG make Rudiger loan offer

After being left out of the last two match-day squads, Antonio Rudiger is reportedly a loan target of some of the biggest clubs in Europe, who are hoping to snap up the out-of-favour 27-year-old.

According to the Daily Mail , Paris Saint-Germain have made an approach for the German. The French champions want to loan Rudiger for the season, but include an option to buy clause in the deal.

Barcelona have also been named as a potential landing spot, but Chelsea would prefer to sell on a permanent basis.

Nevertheless, with Rudiger not a part of Lampard’s plans and expected to leave before the 5 October deadline, negotiations continue.

Lampard discusses Rudiger exit

Amid swirling reports of a Rudiger exit, which were only accelerated by the arrivals of Thiago Silva and Malang Sarr, Lampard was asked about the defender’s future at the club, as well as the reports linking Jorginho with a shock move to Arsenal.

“I don’t expect anything in the window, they are our players,” he said, per the Metro . “There are lots of rumours, not just on those players but on a lot of our players.

“Every player will always be a case-by-case situation that has to be a happy solution for the player, myself and for the club.

“We have a big squad, we know that, but at the moment players remain ours and we will see as time goes on.”

Chelsea record £89M signing Kai Havertz was at the centre of a controversial handball VAR row as newly promoted West Brom were denied an unlikely win.

West Brom were clinging on to their three goal half-time lead when television replays appeared to show Havertz control the ball with an arm in the build-up to an injury time equaliser from Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham.

West Brom manager Slaven Bilic said: ‘The third goal is difficult to accept because the handball was so clear.

‘I do not even want to talk about it because it is not “a maybe” or “a possibly” it IS a handball.

‘That is end of story, full stop. How people can that is say not a handball is beyond me.

‘I am proud of my players and they should be feeling that too in a buzzing dressing room, but it is not like that.

‘The lads are disappointed because they did not get the three points they deserved

‘As a manager I have to go into dressing room and see really disappointed faces because a couple of points have been taken for us because of a handball.’

Barcelona have turned down an offer worth 150 million euros for Ansu Fati.

The club were made aware of the bid by the teenager’s new agent, Jorge Mendes, a few days ago.

The offer included 125 million euros in transfer fees, plus another 25 million in add-ons based on the player’s performance.

Barcelona, though, didn’t want anything to do with the offer and refused to enter negotiations over the sale of the 17-year-old.

Earlier this year, a club was prepared to pay 100 million euros for Ansu Fati – another bid relayed to Barcelona by Mendes, even though he wasn’t the player’s agent then – but the Catalans have never considered letting the forward go.

The name of the club who have made this latest bid worth 150 million euros is unknown, but the English press have reported that Manchester United have strong interest in Ansu Fati.

The Red Devils want to sign a stellar forward as they try to compete with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea once more.

Ansu Fati has recently become a first-team player at Barcelona, which has seen his release clause rise from 170 million euros to 400 million.

At the moment, the Spanish international hasn’t signed a contract extension at the Camp Nou, with his current deal set to expire in 2022.

Lionel Messi has appeared in an interesting advert to promote 5G technology.

The shipwrecked Barcelona captain tries to survive on the high seas while two huge white sharks harass him with bad intentions.

Yet, this 5G technology by the company Ooredoo Qatar comes to Messi’s rescue and he is saved.

Edouard Mendy is expected to displace Kepa Arrizabalaga as Chelsea’s number one. We used Opta data to compare the two goalkeepers.

Chelsea made Kepa Arrizabalaga the world’s most expensive goalkeeper when they shelled out £71.6million to sign him in August 2018.

Mendy in to challenge Kepa

Club director Marina Granovskaia said upon the announcement of his arrival: “Kepa is a talent we have admired for a long time and we are extremely excited about his arrival.

“He has already demonstrated fantastic quality and consistency and will be a big part of any success Chelsea have in the coming years. His long-term contract reflects the belief we have in him and we look ahead to the coming seasons with an enormous sense of optimism.”

Just over two years later, though, and Kepa’s long-term future at the club is far from certain, with the Blues having paid £22m to bring in Edouard Mendy from Rennes.

Chelsea said Mendy had joined to “complement our existing group” of keepers, but he will be expected to swiftly make the starting spot his own after Kepa committed two errors leading to goals across the opening two games of the Premier League season.

With the help of Opta, we look at what Chelsea can expect from Mendy and how he compares to Kepa.

Mendy (24) made nine fewer league appearances than Kepa (33) in 2019-20, with the coronavirus pandemic having curtailed the Ligue 1 season when most teams still had 10 more fixtures to fulfil.

He conceded 19 goals and kept nine clean sheets as Rennes qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history, while Kepa let in 28 more and shut out the opposition one time less.

Mendy registered a far higher save percentage than the Blues keeper (76.3 per cent to 53.5 per cent) and blew him out of the water in terms of goals prevented.

According to expected goals on target data (xGoT), the shots on target faced by Mendy were enough to concede 21 goals. However, he only let in 18 (excluding own goals) and was therefore responsible for preventing three goals.

For Kepa, the numbers tell a far different story. An xGoT value of 34 compared to the 45 goals he let in (excluding own goals) means he conceded 11 more than expected.

On that basis alone, it is easy to see why Chelsea were keen to seek out an alternative.

The move to Chelsea means Mendy may have to adapt to a different style of goalkeeping, though.

In the Premier League last season, 51 per cent of Kepa’s 198 goal-kicks ended inside his own box.

However, Mendy sent far more of his long, with only 21 per cent of his 163 goal-kicks finding a recipient in his area.

Furthermore, over half of Mendy’s passes (56.7 per cent) were classified as long balls, with Kepa’s ratio down at 33.7 per cent. Despite that, though, his average of 20.1 successful passes per 90 minutes was just 2.6 fewer than the Spaniard.

Unless Chelsea specifically want greater emphasis on long-range distribution, Mendy could require some time to adjust to playing a shorter passing game.

But if he is able to adapt, Kepa may find his game time at Stamford Bridge severely limited.

Teams will be able to make five substitutions in UEFA competitions for the rest of the season, according to the organisation’s president Aleksander Ceferin. 

The law amendment was proposed by world governing body FIFA to assist clubs in managing player workload in a congested calendar created by the coronavirus pandemic. 

While it has not been adopted for the 2020-21 season by the Premier League, which has reverted to three substitutes, Ceferin said at a press conference that UEFA’s executive committee had approved it for club competitions such as the Champions League and the Europa League and in national team matches. 

Ceferin said: “After representations from clubs and national associations the executive committee approved the use of five substitutions in club and international matches for the rest of the season.”

The executive committee also approved triple-header international breaks in March and September next year, he said. 

The international windows in October and November 2020 had already been extended by one day by FIFA, to allow for three matches to be played by each country instead of two.

Ceferin also announced the 2021 UEFA Congress will take place in Switzerland in March next year, rather than the Belarusian capital Minsk.The city in the former Soviet republic has witnessed popular uprisings against president Alexander Lukashenko, who was controversially re-elected in August.

World players’ union FIFPRO welcomed the decision on allowing five substitutes. 

The organisation’s general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffmann said: “This is the right decision and a good first step to ease pressure on elite-level players.

“We will continue to push for further innovative ways to reduce their mounting workload and protect their health and performance.”

Reflecting on his career, Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho has highlighted elimination to Bayern Munich while with Real Madrid as the lowest point of his career.

The penalty shoot-out defeat at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu sent his team out of the Champions League in the semi-finals.

“If I have to choose the worst moment, it’s that elimination with Real Madrid,” Mourinho responded in an interview with Mercado Aberto for Portuguese television channel Sic.

“We were the best team in Europe, without a doubt, we won LaLiga smashing all the records for points and goals and we would’ve won that final, I don’t have any doubt.

“What was most cruel for me was that in the shoot-out we chose Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka and Sergio Ramos, they were dead certs from the penalty spot and the guys who missed were those who never miss, it sunk me.”

Mourinho would last just 12 months more in the dugout at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu before returning to his former club Chelsea