Chelsea urged to BACK Graham Potter with more time like Mikel Arteta received at Arsenal and Pep Guardiola had at Man City

Chelsea owners have been urged to back under-pressure Graham Potter in the same way as Arsenal did for Mikel Arteta and Manchester City did for Pep Guardiola.

That is according to Chelsea legend Pat Nevin, who believes the Blues have to be “ballsy” to stick it out with Potter if he is the “perfect candidate” for them.

Potter was appointed Chelsea manager last September after the sacking of Thomas Tuchel, but the former Brighton boss has struggled at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea are languishing in 10th place and are 11 points adrift from the top four, with the Blues suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Southampton at St Mary’s on Saturday.

And Potter’s men are on the verge of crashing out of the Champions League after suffering a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Chelsea co-owner and chairman Todd Boehly has also spent lavishly in the summer and winter transfer windows after his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

Speaking in his column for The Daily Mail, Nevin has urged his former club to weather the storm and stick it out with Chelsea boss Potter.

“If Potter is your perfect candidate, a coach who builds over time while moulding young players, and if you believe in what you’re doing, you have to be ballsy and see it out,” he wrote.

“Remember what Mikel Arteta went through with Arsenal. People said it wasn’t working, it was dreadful.

“People also forget Pep Guardiola was battered at Manchester City. It takes a while. You don’t turn around a supertanker in a bath.

“If Chelsea’s owners are brave enough to believe in what they’ve put in place, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them stick with it until the end of the season.

“They’ve bought a bunch of youngsters. Unbelievably expensive youngsters, but this isn’t a team for now. It’s for two or three years down the line.”

READ MORE:

• Footage of Chelsea players walking out of tunnel vs Southampton is going viral
• Graham Potter responds to reporter saying fans are calling him ‘worst manager in Chelsea’s history’
• Gabby Agbonlahor tells Chelsea to SACK Graham Potter over post-match remarks after Southampton defeat

Topics: Graham Potter, Chelsea, Premier League, England, Football

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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