Emmanuel Petit backs Chelsea title challenge but warns Xabi Alonso

Former Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Emmanuel Petit believes Chelsea can challenge for the Premier League title this season, although he still expects Manchester City to provide Arsenal with their toughest competition.

Speaking to Boyle Sports, Petit highlighted Chelsea’s attacking potential but believes Xabi Alonso still has significant problems to solve, particularly defensively.

“I think Chelsea can compete for the Premier League title this season because they are not playing any European games but they are missing players in some key positions, especially in midfield,” Petit said.

Chelsea have already demonstrated their ability to score goals quickly, but Petit believes finding the right balance will determine whether they can sustain a genuine title challenge.

“They will score a lot of goals. We have seen how quickly they can score in games. But they need to improve as a team, especially when it comes to finding their balance and playing better tactically and with communication at the back.”

That defensive concern has already become one of the major talking points around Alonso’s early months at Chelsea.

Petit believes Chelsea are simply conceding too many goals and says Alonso is under pressure to demonstrate his qualities after his previous spell at Real Madrid.

“Chelsea are conceding too many goals and they have to do something about that this season,” Petit explained.

“The pressure is on Xabi Alonso to prove himself after what happened at Real Madrid, and I think the vast majority of Chelsea’s players have something to prove to themselves, to the fans and to the club for what happened last season too.”

From Football Place’s perspective, that assessment gets to the heart of Chelsea’s current problem.

There is considerable attacking talent available, but Alonso still needs to find a structure that gets the best from those players without leaving Chelsea vulnerable defensively.

The challenge is therefore not necessarily making Chelsea more defensive. It is finding a better tactical balance that allows their attacking players to influence games while providing greater protection when possession is lost.

Despite backing Chelsea to compete, Petit does not consider them Arsenal’s biggest rivals for the championship.

“But for many reasons, I still think Chelsea will compete this season,” he said. “Are they going to be the toughest opponents for Arsenal? I think that will still be Manchester City.”

Petit expects Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to occupy three of the Premier League’s top four positions.

For Chelsea, reaching that level will depend heavily on whether Alonso can quickly address the defensive issues Petit has identified.

Chelsea’s attacking quality gives Petit confidence that they can remain in the title conversation, but Alonso needs to find a more effective balance between attack and defence. Their ability to solve that tactical problem could determine whether Chelsea become genuine challengers or simply compete for a Champions League position.