"That's my only concern", "Better be some tactical masterclass" - Fans surprised by Chelsea man's exclusion from XI for Arsenal clash

Chelsea fans have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express their concerns about Enzo Maresca’s decision to exclude Reece James from the starting XI to face Arsenal on Sunday, November 10. The English defender will start from the bench as Malo Gusto takes his position in the starting lineup at Stamford Bridge.

Since returning to action in October after recovering from a hamstring injury, Reece James has featured in all three of Chelsea’s Premier League games. He played the full 90 minutes in the Blues' last two PL games. However, Enzo Maresca has made a slight change to his usual starting XI, keeping James on the bench and starting Marc Cucurella and Gusto as the full-backs against the Gunners.

Robert Sanchez took his usual position in between the sticks. Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill, and Marc Cucurella form the back four. Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia will play as the deep-lying midfielders. Noni Madueke, Cole Palmer, and Pedro Neto are the attacking midfielders, with Nicolas Jackson spearheading the attack.

The decision to exclude Reece James did not sit well with some Chelsea fans, who took to X to express their dissatisfaction. A fan wrote:

"Why is Reece on bench that’s my only concern."

Another that tweeted:

"Gusto for James? This better be some tactical masterclass cos idg why Gusto starts today again."

''Dropping Reece James in one of the most important games of the season takes huge balls. I don’t think he’s unfit because he’s on the bench. Gusto/Cucurella defending these set pieces over James? Time will tell if it was the right call.'' @DeanCFC_ opined.

''Why does Gusto start over captain Reece James?'' @RemyCFC questioned Maresca's decision.

''not starting reece james in this typa game is unacceptable icl'' @ihatemyfits remarked.

Enzo Maresca says Chelsea will aim for a victory in their Premier League match against Arsenal

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca is hoping that Chelsea will get their first victory against a Premier League 'big six' team this season. The Blues have played against Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United, but they couldn’t win any of the three games. They lost to City and Liverpool and drew with United.

Ahead of the game, Maresca stated that he wants to beat Arsenal, while also defending his team's performance against Liverpool. He said (via the club’s website):

"For sure I would like to win this kind of game, but since we started I've always said the same thing: I analyse the result, but first I analyse the performance. Do you think we deserved to lose against Liverpool? Me neither, but it’s football. Now, hopefully, we can win on Sunday but in the Premier League, it’s difficult to win against any team."

"For sure, if I can decide, then I want to win against Arsenal. No doubt. But Liverpool away, the performance was good and we didn’t deserve to lose. Even against City [on the opening weekend], the good thing is we are there and you can’t see a big difference when we play in this kind of game. This is the most important thing. I don’t know if it will be Sunday or the next game, but for sure we will be there and win this kind of game. No doubt."

Chelsea are currently above Arsenal in the Premier League table as they sit in the fifth and sixth positions, respectively.