Kovacic setting standards for Blues
Southampton (United Kingdom), Oct. 6: Gareth Southgates latest England squad announcement brought mixed news for Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek, but at club level, the immediate obstacle confronting both players is the outstanding form of Chelsea teammate Mateo Kovacic.
Having both featured in Thursdays Europa League defeat of Vidi — Barkley replaced Loftus-Cheek midway through the second half — the pair will be back on the sidelines should Kovacic return to the starting line-up at Southampton on Sunday.
And if the Croatia international maintains the form he has shown since his season-long move from Real Madrid, the two England hopefuls will be given another reminder of the standards they must attain if they are to become regular starters.
England manager Southgate had kept faith with Loftus-Cheek, who was a member of the World Cup campaign, for the last round of internationals, despite the midfielders lack of early season game time under Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge.
This time however, Loftus-Cheeks inaction has led to him being dropped from from the squad to face Croatia and Spain, while Barkley has been recalled for the first time since May 2016 after overcoming the serious hamstring injury that ended his hopes of making the plane to Russia this summer. The position of both players on the fringe of Southgates squad will fuel discussion about the opportunities available to young English players at the Premier Leagues leading clubs.
Meanwhile, Unai Emery insists Arsenal wont be allowed to use their hectic schedule as an excuse for a poor performance when they face Fulham on Sunday.
Emerys side head to Craven Cottage bidding to extend their winning streak to nine matches in all the competitions.
But Arsenal will be battling fatigue after touching down in London in the early hours of Friday morning, following a 4,000km flight from Azerbaijan, where they won 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
It is hardly ideal preparation for an important Premier League clash, but Emery tried to guard against burn-out by resting several players against Qarabag.
And regardless of the potential for dwindling energy levels after the gruelling European trip, the Spaniard believes his stars should be able to cope.
“For us its not a problem to play on Thursday and then on Sunday because we want to play a lot of matches and a lot of competitions,” Emery said.
“We also want to give the players the chances to give them confidence like today for all our players. The players who sometimes dont play were used against Qarabag. But then also, maybe players who featured against Qarabag can play on Sunday too,” he added.