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Defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge was the final straw for Todd Boehly. With Chelsea languishing in the lower half of the table, he sacked the manager he had appointed, the one who was supposed to promote younger players and propel some of his many signings to glory. Not Mauricio Pochettino this week, but Graham Potter in April and, in a ruinous reign, dismissing the Englishman is one of the few decisions that Boehly and Clearlake Capital have got right; appointing Potter, however, ranked high and early among the many mistakes. Since his departure, however, Chelsea have only beaten Bournemouth, AFC Wimbledon and Luton. They have scored 16 goals in 19 games, two of them against a League Two side. In the Premier League this season, they have only outscored Luton and Burnley, who both have a game in hand. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s spending in little over a year has careered past £1bn. The only people to have spent more while failing disastrously and yet congratulating themselves are Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng. Pochettino’s slow start, with an encouraging second half against Liverpool on the opening weekend looking like a false dawn, has to be placed in the context of Chelsea, and this Chelsea. Callum Hudson-Odoi, offloaded by Chelsea on the cheap, scored on his Nottingham Forest debut last week, just as Christian Pulisic had struck in his first two matches for AC Milan whereas, 22 games into his Blues career, the £88m signing Mykhailo Mudryk is still to open his account. The loaned-out Romelu Lukaku has scored in three games in September for Roma whereas, after three games this month, Chelsea are yet to find the net themselves. Nicolas Jackson has provided different problems: some for opposing defences with his pace, more for Chelsea with his profligacy and indiscipline. The Senegalese was a quixotic choice to spearhead a goal-shy team: he finished last season with nine goals in eight matches for Villarreal but only had four in the preceding 30 and almost joined Bournemouth in January. For Chelsea, he is the Premier League’s greatest expected goals underachiever – one goal from an xG of 4.18 – and has a 5.26 per cent chance conversion rate. Only Erling Haaland has missed more big chances in the Premier League, but with the notable difference that the Norwegian is also leading the race for the Golden Boot and, indeed, has more league goals than Chelsea in the Boehly era. If Chelsea have somehow spent a fortune without acquiring lacked a prolific striker, they will be without a wasteful one for next week’s derby with Fulham: Jackson is banned after becoming the first player in the division to accumulate five bookings. That two of them were for waving imaginary yellow cards is an illustration that Chelsea’s plans tend to backfire, often ignominiously. And yet the burden on the raw Jackson has been too great; his record renders his struggles unsurprising. Christopher Nkunku, the Bundesliga’s top scorer last season, looked a genuine coup of a signing. Except that an injury-prone player has been sidelined since the summer. There are times when it seems Chelsea’s recruitment strategy is to sign the injury-prone; the £70m defender Wesley Fofana has a second major injury since joining. They made the injury-prone Reece James captain. He promptly got injured. His £30m deputy Malo Gusto was sent off against Villa. So Chelsea are now short of a right-back. Yet, despite an unprecedented spending spree, Pochettino has often found himself lacking compelling options. At various points this season, his bench has included Lucas Bergstrom, Alfie Gilchrist, Alex Matos, Ronnie Stutter, Eddie Beach, Mason Burstow, Bashir Humphreys and Diego Moreira. The unknowns are scarcely game-changers. Meanwhile, his team has never included the £58m Romeo Lavia, who has been injured. Elsewhere in a midfield of unprecedented cost, the £115m record signing Moises Caicedo conceded a penalty on his debut at West Ham and made the mistake for Nottingham Forest’s winner. The argument made in Chelsea’s defence is that it will take time for players to settle and that, with the youngest team in the division after a clearout of the experienced, they are building for the future. It is true, but only up to a point. Pochettino only has a two-year contract, for instance. Chelsea can amortise fees in the books over never-ending contracts but they still need to pay the selling clubs the sizeable fees they agreed to pay. And so far, no one has got better and no one’s value has increased. Meanwhile, can Chelsea afford to wait for this increasingly imaginary future? They are already nine points behind fifth place, four adrift of every other major contender for a top-four finish. They have no revenue – broadcast or matchday – from European football and, in a major failure, no shirt sponsor. They are raising prices for fans; by doing so to compensate for their own reckless overspending and terrible decision-making while providing them with an inferior product suggests they are football’s answer to Elon Musk. Meanwhile, they stumble on. Logically, with a manager of Pochettino’s calibre, with talented if at times mismatched players, with footballers of potential, it will get better. But logically, they should never have plumbed such depths at all. And so Chelsea’s quest for a first goal of September continues against in the Carabao Cup against Brighton, having taken their manager, coaching staff, head of recruitment, player of the year, goalkeeper and, for a record-breaking price, their midfielder for a combined sum of around £250m. And now Brighton are 11 places above Chelsea in the table. Read More Chelsea misery continues as Aston Villa increase discontent at Stamford Bridge Mohamed Salah’s record form is justifying Liverpool’s £150m transfer gamble Why Jonny Evans and band of Manchester United misfits are a genuine feel-good story Chelsea misery continues as Aston Villa increase discontent at Stamford Bridge Chelsea vs Aston Villa LIVE: Latest Premier League updates Odegaard signs and De Roon reveals all – Friday’s sporting social

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Mikel Arteta hailed the “empathy” of his Arsenal players after what he hopes was a game-changing goal from Kai Havertz in their win at Bournemouth. The £65million summer signing from Chelsea had not registered a goal or assist in his first nine games for the Gunners but finally hit the target as he converted a penalty in a 4-0 victory at the Vitality Stadium. Arsenal were already two goals to the good through Bukayo Saka’s header and a Martin Odegaard penalty when an on-field decision handed responsibility for a second spot-kick of the afternoon to under-fire Havertz. He tucked away his chance to break his duck, as his team-mates and the away end greeted the goal with jubilant celebrations. “I’m really happy for the win, but I’m even happier to be part of a team that shows the human qualities that they did today,” Arteta said. “Without me telling them nothing, to show that empathy to a player that has some question marks to resolve externally, they warmed me even more today. They’ve done it in a really natural way. “I’m delighted they made that decision. And so thankful as well to our supporters for the way they sung his name and made him feel today. If there’s a player who deserves that it’s Kai Havertz, so happy for him. “We have all tried to give him support and the right tools. He’s doing so many great things in the game. It was about that moment, that was the question that had to be resolved and today he has done it. “To show that level of empathy and understanding, worrying and caring for somebody is just great.” Without me telling them nothing, to show that empathy to a player that has some question marks to resolve externally, they warmed me even more today. They’ve done it in a really natural way Mikel Arteta Arteta referenced Olympic champion Usain Bolt when discussing how Havertz deserved his moment in the south coast sunshine following his hard work in recent weeks. “Probably it will change everything,” the Spaniard replied when asked what the goal could do for Havertz. “If he had any question marks about how we feel about him, about what he does, I think they are out. “I think in sport – Usain Bolt said it once – ‘I have to train four years to run nine seconds’. Sometimes you have to do a lot and you don’t see that. “In that moment you see it. I think after everything he’s been through in the last few weeks that moment is worth all of it, so really happy for him.” The one sour note for Arsenal came as Saka limped off injured for the second game in a row, raising the possibility he could miss next Sunday’s showdown with champions Manchester City. Bournemouth, meanwhile, remain winless in the Premier League under new head coach Andoni Iraola. The Cherries have come close on previous occasions but that was not the case here, with Iraola admitting the hosts did not deserve a result. “It was the first time we were not at the level the competition required and we did not finish the game well,” he said. “For sure this game leaves the worse sensation for me. You can lose against this type of team because they are really good but it is the first game this season where I have felt that we were not at the level. “You have to be at your best to compete against these teams and we weren’t after the first goal. We cannot concede two penalties and also the first goal is a bit strange, we should be there but we lost the positioning of Saka. “We started really well, were doing well but after 1-0 I think they were better than us.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Michael Beale uncertain of Rangers future after ‘terrible’ Aberdeen result Rob Edwards ‘very, very proud’ of Luton after landmark Premier League win Eddie Howe worried over growing injury list as Newcastle prepare for PSG clash

Fashion Sakala grabbed a double as Rangers signed off on their cinch Premiership season with 3-0 win over St Mirren in Paisley. Both teams had little to play for but the Gers attacker was determined to leave a lasting impression on the campaign, scoring following a solo run after 26 minutes before adding a second just after the break with a similar run and finish. Fit-again Croatia striker Antonio Colak climbed off the Rangers bench to score a third in the 77th minute as the Ibrox side – consigned to finish runners-up to champions Celtic – enjoyed a comfortable finale to their trophyless season. Boss Michael Beale, who took over from Giovanni Van Bronckhorst last November, has already begun the revamp of the squad he hopes can overcome treble-chasing Celtic and Gers supporters will welcome a very different team into the new season – but expectations will remain as high as ever. Saints had reached the top six for the first time under the present league format but were without a win in their previous six games. However, manager Stephen Robinson had stressed the season had been a success and for the last fling, there as a league debut for goalkeeper Peter Urminsky and first starts of the season for midfielder Coalan Boyd-Munce and attacker Lewis Jamieson. For the visitors, goalkeeper Robby McCrorie replaced the departing Allan McGregor, with midfielders Ryan Jack and Ianis Hagi and attacker Rabbi Matondo starting. Buddies defender Ryan Strain went off with an injury after just six minutes and – before he was replaced by Marcus Fraser – Matondo curled a shot from the edge of the penalty area which just escaped Urminsky’s left-hand post. Sakala’s goal came when he took a pass from left-back Ridvan Yilmaz, slalomed across the Saints penalty area past a couple of black and white shirts before his shot struck Paisley defender Scott Tanser and limped over the line. The visiting fans at the other end of the ground seeming to take time before realising the ball was in the net. Moments later, McCrorie made a decent save from captain Mark O’Hara’s header before the Rangers goalkeeper was caught by Curtis Main as he went for a Jamieson cross, the Paisley forward picking up a booking from referee Matthew MacDermid for his troubles. Less than three minutes after the restart, Sakala added a second, again coming in from the left evading tackles and this time his low drive was clean and powerful as the ball sped past Urminsky. St Mirren slowly began to work their way into the game, pushing Rangers backwards and giving them some defending to do. Beale made a quadruple substitution in the 67th minute, bringing on Adam Devine, Borna Barasic, Scott Arfield and Colak with skipper James Tavernier, Yilmaz, Hagi and Sakala making way. The changes did little to repel the Buddies who were working hard to get a lifeline in the game. However, after firing a drive wide of the target from outside the box, Colak knocked the ball in from close range, after Todd Cantwell’s corner from the right had been flicked on by Nicolas Raskin, before taking the acclaim of the Rangers supporters behind the goal. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Roy Hodgson looking to end his latest stint as Crystal Palace boss on a high Alex Hartley: Taking indefinite break from cricket was ‘hardest decision’ ever Aston Villa’s final step in European bid will be hardest – Unai Emery

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