Chelsea´s ´boring´ style not an issue – Arnesen

Frank Arnesen believes Chelsea’s style of play is no cause for concern and says it is up to rival clubs to try to match the Premier League champions.

Jose Mourinho’s side claimed a fourth Premier League title – and a third under the guidance of the Portuguese – courtesy of Sunday’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.

During their 0-0 draw at Arsenal the previous weekend, Chelsea were subjected to taunts of being “boring” by the Arsenal fans, with Mourinho hitting back by subsequently responding that “boring is 10 years without a title”. 

And Arnesen, who was sporting director at Stamford Bridge during their second title win in 2006, thinks any criticism of Chelsea’s style is unfair.

“It’s not an issue,” he told Perform at the Sporting Directors’ Summit at the Etihad Stadium. 

“I think the fans are very happy and I think it’s a little harsh to say they’ve not played some good football, of course they’ve played some good football.

“Mourinho does that, priority number one is winning and they are doing fantastic so I think you can never blame a style, you can blame the others for not winning.

“Chelsea is happy and satisfied that they’ll be champions.”

Arnesen expects Mourinho to use this season’s UEFA Champions League disappointment – Chelsea exited at the last-16 stage at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain – as motivation to succeed next term, but says another top-flight crown in 2015-16 is not a given.

“You never know and that is what is fantastic about the Premier League,” he said. “Nothing is for granted, but for this season Chelsea have been outstanding and they’re the absolute number one.

“I expected them to win against Paris Saint-Germain, so that will be a good thing for Mourinho next season to get the players hungry and say ‘we cannot go out so early’.

“They have the best squad, they will always do something, all the big clubs even if they are winning have to move on, but at the moment I think they have a fantastic squad.”