Wayne Rooney says Chelsea star ‘struggled all game’ in defeat to Arsenal

Wayne Rooney says Reece James ‘struggled all game’ against Arsenal and man-marking Declan Rice proved a ‘job too big’ for the Chelsea captain.

Mikel Merino’s towering first-half header proved the difference in Sunday’s turgid London derby, with Chelsea offering very little by way of reply at the Emirates.

The Blues had seemingly turned a corner having won four games on the trot prior to the 1-0 defeat and the result meant Enzo Maresca’s men missed the chance to extend their lead over fifth-placed Manchester City.

The Gunners, meanwhile, ended a three-game winless streak in the top flight with the victory and reduced Liverpool advantage at the top of the Premier League table to 12 points in the process.

Maresca opted to play Enzo Fernandez in a more advanced position after Cole Palmer was ruled out through injury, with Reece starting in the engine room alongside Moises Caicedo, tasked with containing England colleague Rice.

But it proved a difficult afternoon for the makeshift Chelsea midfielder, who spent much of the contest being dragged around the pitch, chasing shadows.

Highlighting James’ struggles on Match of the Day, legendary ex-Manchester United forward Rooney said: ‘I just felt that Reece James had a job to do today and he was man-marking Declan Rice which, coming back from injury, is very difficult to do.

‘I felt he struggled all game. He’s trying to play the role the manager has given him but I think he struggled with it.

‘If we have a look at it here [screenshot below] and you look at Reece James and Declan Rice, so Reece is staying close to him.

‘He should be where I’ve moved him back to here [on the edge of the centre circle].

‘But if you look at it here now, as it plays on, Reece James is always thinking of Declan Rice, no other thought in his head.

‘He’s not even looking at the ball [screenshot above], he vacates the middle of the pitch and now Declan Rice is very clever with his movement, you can see that he’s telling Thomas Partey to come into the space where Reece James should be.

‘Thomas Partey comes into the space [screenshot below], receives the ball with no one there but this was a theme all game. Nothing comes of this one here but, again, Reece James is just following Declan Rice around everywhere.’

Rooney pointed to another moment later on in the contest when James left Partey in acres of space after being lured out wide by Rice on the left flank.

‘If you watch again here [screenshot below], Declan Rice is now pulling Reece James out wide. Thomas Partey again coming into the space which Reece James leaves,’ the ex-England striker added.

‘Now, you end up with Chelsea players getting moved all over the pitch.

‘Thomas Partey gets the ball, turns, gets at the Chelsea backline. On another day it’s a real big opportunity for Arsenal.’

At another point in the match, James sprinted 34 yards across the pitch to get close to Rice, exposing Chelsea to an attack from Arsenal, which ultimately came to nothing.

‘This one [screenshots below] was really interesting. If you look at Declan Rice and you look at Reece James and Jadon Sancho,’ Rooney explained.

‘Reece James, all he has to do is communicate with Sancho and Sancho can take Declan Rice.

‘But he doesn’t do that and Reece James follows him again, 34 yards he’s ran just to try and stay close to Declan Rice.

‘[Myles] Lewis-Skelly sees that, he comes into the space and Jadon Sancho has to do more work to get back into the space so Chelsea are rotated out of possession which is never good.

‘Declan Rice has dragged Reece James out wide but, again here, if you watch Declan Rice… Reece James has done all that work to get close to him but then switches off.

‘Declan Rice makes a good run forward which he has been doing a lot over the last few weeks. He gets in a dangerous position, gets turned, pulls the ball back and it’s another good opportunity for Arsenal.

‘I just felt it was a job too big for Reece James.’

Despite Chelsea’s latest setback, Rooney is confident there have been enough signs from Maresca’s side to suggest they can return to towards the top of the Premier League over the coming seasons.

‘They’ve signed a lot of players and it’s still a very young team,’ he went on.

‘I think there’s been some really good signs from Chelsea this season, there has just been that lack of experience as a group. That’s probably catching up with them a bit.

‘I do think over the next couple of years, we’re going to see Chelsea elevating themselves again to get towards the top of the league.’

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