Glenn Hoddle doing punditry.
Glenn Hoddle doing punditry.

“It’s not all hunky dory” – What Glenn Hoddle saw on Chelsea bench against Arsenal points to future problems

Former Chelsea manager Glenn Hoddle has revealed he noticed some players were “upset” about not coming on on in Sunday’s game against Arsenal.

The Blues battled to a hard earned point against the Gunners, which saw them move into third in the Premier League heading into the international break.

It could have been worse for Chelsea after Gabriel Martinelli gave the visitor’s the lead, but the Blues hit back through a brilliant effort from Pedro Neto, although they were unable to find a winner.

Hoddle claims there was disharmony on the Chelsea bench

Chelsea have got so many options in their squad and Enzo Maresca faces a difficult challenge to keep everyone happy, especially Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku, who have featured sparingly in the league.

Whilst Maresca has been able to give squad players minutes in the Conference League, a lot of these players didn’t sign just to play in the cup competitions.

It was reported that Felix ripped off his sock ties in frustration after it was clear he wouldn’t be coming on against Arsenal, and he’s not featured in the last four Premier League games.

Enzo Maresca applauds the home fans. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Maresca faces a difficult task to keep all the players happy. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

There was a moment of contention against Arsenal when Noni Madueke stormed straight down the tunnel after being taken off, an act Rio Ferdinand described as disrespectful. 

Former Chelsea boss Hoddle was sat behind the dug out at the game and claimed there were players who were “upset” about not coming on.

“I was behind the bench, it was interesting, watching the subs and all players want to play,” he told Premier League Productions as quoted by Metro.

“It’s not all hunky dory, I can see players were upset about not getting on and some coming off that weren’t happy. He’s done a great job but there’s a long way to go.

“But I think those two other cups are really helping him with keeping players happy. If they go out of those two trophies then I think he’ll have a bit more of a problem.”

It’s certainly an issue that Maresca will have to face further down the line, especially if Chelsea qualify for the Champions League and it will be interesting to see how he keeps the squad happy over the course of the season.

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