Carlo Ancelotti To Return For Arsenal Clash
It is a difficult time for Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, his father, Guiseppe, passed away Wednesday night and his availability for the Arsenal clash over the weekend is uncertain. The Italian manager flew out to his homeland after hearing the news earlier
this week and it is reported that the manager will remain with his family for the funeral, which is scheduled to be held on Saturday but will most probably return for the Arsenal clash.
Ancelotti had been travelling to Italy on and off to see his father; a few weeks ago he was reported to say, “My father is not well. He is an old man. He has a lot of problems. When possible I fly back to Italy to see him and he has good support from my
sister. He has a lot of problems and it's tough emotionally when it's your father.” He added, “But this is life and I have to do my best to stay close to him. Everyone at the club knows my situation and they have all given me good support.”
A statement released by the club read, “Carlo Ancelotti's father Giuseppe passed away in Italy last night aged 87 with his son at his side. Everyone at Chelsea Football Club sends our deepest condolences to Carlo and his family. They are all in our thoughts
at this time. The funeral will take place in Italy on Saturday. Carlo will return to London for Sunday's match versus Arsenal.”
In his absence, Ray Wilkins will take charge of the Blues in preparation of the important against London rivals, Arsenal. This fixture will be essential for both sides in determining their dominance early on in the season. Currently Chelsea are at the top
of the league with 15 points, but a loss or draw against third place Arsenal could easily result in title contenders Manchester United catching up.
Chelsea will have something to prove when they take the field against Arsenal, the Blues lost 1-0 to Manchester City at Eastlands last weekend and after suffering a setback in their defense for the English Premier League crown, will be eager to extend their
lead this weekend. Arsenal suffered a much worse result than their upcoming opponents, Arsenal were humiliated 3-2 at the hands of West Brom at the Emirates. They too have something to prove.
Both sides regained some confidence in their mid week Champions League clashes, Chelsea beat Marseille 2-0 and Ancelotti was pleased with the win, the Italian claiming the Blues had put their recent poor form behind them with the important win the Champions
League. He said, “We analyzed our last two defeats but now they are forgotten. I think we're in control of our qualification. We have a good chance to qualify in first place. We're in a good position - top of the table in this competition, and top of the table
in the Premier League.”
However, Ancelotti admitted that the upcoming games were important if Chelsea wished to maintain their lead at the top, both the Champions League group G and the English Premier League. He said he believed the four matches that Chelsea had to play in the
Champions League, especially the two legs against Spartak Moscow were important for the Blues. The Italian went on to speak of his sides performance against Marseille, saying the English champions could have done much better, especially in the second half.
The Chelsea boss said, “It wasn't comfortable because the second half was more difficult as Marseille wanted to get back into the game. They put pressure on our midfield and we didn't play as well as in the first half, but we did create a lot of chances.”
It’s fairly obvious the Italian wants his side to step up their performance, the competition is getting tougher especially in the upcoming weeks and with their injury problems, the Blues will have to work hard to return to their 6-0 winning form again.
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