Guus Hiddink admits to defensive alarm bells

Guus Hiddink is naturally predisposed towards optimism but he has acknowledged that Chelsea are vulnerable defensively at the moment, having conceded five goals in their last two games.

“Nowadays if you don’t defend well, starting up front, you can easily be outplayed because of the technical and tactical quality of the players,” he explained ahead of tomorrow’s visit to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

“In the early days you couldn’t be so easily outplayed tactically but now teams have that ability. If you don’t work with a lot of responsibility in your area, as a midfielder or a striker, then defending becomes a problem.