3 Challenges that Frank Lampard faces as Chelsea struggle

In one of the best London derbies in recent memory, Chelsea gave up a lead against 10-man Arsenal as the Gunners came from behind to get themselves a draw against the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

Frank Lampard's men have been in poor form for over a month as they have failed to win games against many teams from the bottom half of the table. Chelsea's forwards have been woeful and the defence has been unorganised. Set-piece defending remains an issue for the Blues as they have conceded late goals from corners and free kicks.

Chelsea's lead in the top four is shrinking day by day and it is only a matter of time before other teams occupy the Champions League spots. Frank Lampard has a lot to ponder about and should be making some big decisions in the days to come.

Chelsea should be frustrated with their performances as they have failed to kill off a plethora of games as they have dropped points continuously at Stamford Bridge.

Here, we take a look at three challenges that Chelsea has struggled with.

#3 Chelsea need a new striker in January

For the past couple of games, Chelsea has lacked the incisiveness in its finishing. The forwards have missed too many chances as they have often overplayed the ball and taken the wrong decision.

Chelsea has been able to move the ball into the final third but has often missed the final pass and the finish. With Tammy Abraham hitting a rough patch and Christian Pulisic injured, the Blues are short of ideas and do not have anyone to call upon.

As lovely as it is to Abraham score for the Blues, one must realise that he cannot be the only one scoring. The 22-year-old has been involved in over 15 goals this season and has been in great touch. However, he has been quite frustrating in the past couple of weeks as he has often failed to find the back of the net. Despite Michy Batshuayi and Olivier Giroud on the bench, Lampard doesn't have a goalscoring outlet left on the bench.

Against Arsenal, Abraham did well to get the penalty against David Luiz. He was involved in the build-up in the first half and looked good. However, as the second half wore on, his impact faded slowly. Moreover, he was at fault for Hector Bellerin's goal as he failed to close the Spaniard down and gave him too much time and space to unleash the shot.

With ten minutes left on the clock, Lampard introduced Batshuayi into the game. Now, Batshuayi has never really been the perfect striker, but he has always been appreciated for his poaching instincts inside the box.

However, he was not impressive against Arsenal as he fluffed a chance that could have won Chelsea the game. Callum Hudson-Odoi put in the perfect cross with Batshuayi in the clear. He could have finished the chance with a simple tap in, however, he took a shot that was six yards wide of the box.

Abraham has also been facing minor injury issues and Lampard must consider giving him some rest. Chelsea's situation at the front is becoming alarming day by day and Lampard must do everything he can to sign a quality striker in January.

Moreover, he should realise that Abraham cannot always be the one scoring and Chelsea are in dire need of a back-up. With rumours surrounding the futures of many quality centre-forwards, it is time the Blues go into the market searching for another man to help with goalscoring duties.

#2 Kepa is becoming an issue

Newcastle United v Chelsea FC - Premier League

So, Kepa Arrizabalaga has been in horrible form this season. It seems that there is a lack of confidence as he has often looked nervy in front of the goal. Throughout this season, Chelsea has conceded goals that could have possibly been saved by the Spaniard.

When Chelsea paid a world record amount for Kepa, it looked like an overpriced deal. However, he put in some phenomenal performances last season and gave a good answer to his critics. But it is sad to see that he is just not there this season and his performances have been average at best.

Against Arsenal, Kepa put in a poor shift in general. His distribution was wayward and there were at least two moments in the game when his misplaced pass turned into a direct attack from the Gunners.

Kepa should not be blamed for the first goal. It was a defensive blunder in general which was followed by some misfortune as Kante slipped. For the second goal, Kepa has to be held accountable to an extent.

Again, his defence let him down as Hector Bellerin should never have been allowed to take that shot. However, Kepa could have done much more to save the shot. Considering his price tag, the Blues expect a lot more from their keeper.

These sort of performances from Kepa have become a trend this season. Every game, Chelsea give their clean sheet up cheaply and the defence is blamed for exposing their keeper.

But what is important here is that the keeper must guard his net even if his defence exposes him. The keeper is the last man on the pitch and has to be in top form throughout the game. Chelsea cannot blame the defence every time, the keeper has to be held accountable, and it has to be accepted that Kepa is just not that good.

#1 Lack of goals from Chelsea's midfield

This man that could turn Chelsea's season around

Chelsea's midfield department boasts of some of the world's best players. Jorginho, N'Golo Kante, Mateo Kovacic, and Mason Mount are all capable of changing the face of the game on their own. However, the concern regarding their midfield is that the goals have dried up.

While it is obvious that Lampard has midfielders with some great skillsets, he lacks a regular goal-scoring option and that is one of the reasons behind the fact that Chelsea is unable to finish matches.

In the London Derby, Chelsea started with a midfield trio of Jorginho, N'Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic. Now, it is easy to predict that these three won't be seen regularly on the score sheet.

While Jorginho finished the penalty beautifully, he failed to find any other involvement in the box. N'Golo Kante's final product has been wasteful for a while and it was the same story last night. Mateo Kovacic has everything in his toolbox, but he lacks the final shot.

Throughout the years, midfielders like Juan Mata, Cesc Fabregas, Frank Lampard have provided Chelsea with regular goals from the middle. At this point in time, the Blues need a leader in midfield, one that can score goals at the crucial junctures.

With their frontline misfiring, Chelsea needs goals from all the positions. Frank Lampard must take a look at this and work on the end products in training. Perhaps, the return of Ruben Loftus-Cheek could sort this out.

Edited by Zaid Khan