Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso is keeping the fitness of Moises Caicedo tightly under wraps to prevent Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta from gaining an advantage ahead of their Premier League match. Caicedo was injured against Brighton and came off during the game. The Ecuadorian midfielder has been present at the Cobham training ground every day this week, but Alonso is determined to hide his availability from their upcoming opponents.
Sources suggest Chelsea staff have noticed an increase in secrecy surrounding team news compared to previous managers. The club was rocked by a mole who leaked their starting line-ups last season under former manager Liam Rosenior. This renewed focus on confidentiality coincides with heightened security measures at Cobham. Last week, Alonso's colleague Willie Isa was unhappy when two unknown individuals managed to walk past a closed training session.
Alonso has only named his starting line-up on the day of the game at least once this season. His desire to protect information may have been influenced by his time managing Real Madrid, where leaks were a constant problem. He tried to instil confidentiality at the Spanish club but often failed.
Before Real Madrid played their first Club World Cup game against Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal in June 2025, Alonso revealed his starting line-up to the team in advance as a test. The players failed the test. It was soon reported in the Spanish media that 21-year-old academy graduate Gonzalo Garcia was surprisingly starting the match.
Evasive tactics in press conferences
Alonso was candid during Chelsea's pre-season tour of Australia and Asia. Now that the competitive games have begun, he has become much more evasive. When reporters asked who his primary penalty taker is, Alonso declined to answer, saying: "Nope, sorry." When asked to name his first-choice goalkeeper, he said: "Don't ask."
Alonso also declined to say whether Enzo Fernandez was still training while the player missed the match-day squads for games against Luton and Brighton. Fernandez has since been sold to Manchester City. We now understand that Fernandez was excused from team training as well as those matches.
Chelsea have stopped uploading articles to their website listing weekly injuries, doubts, and rehabilitation programmes. Former manager Mauricio Pochettino provided these updates, which gave opponents a handy advantage. Alonso will be asked about the fitness of Caicedo at his Friday afternoon press conference, but it will be up to him whether he wants to make the jobs of Arteta and the Arsenal analysts easier.
Monaco transfer collapse
Chelsea co-owner Behdad Eghbali spent last week on the French Riviera for networking purposes. BlueCo had no clubs involved in the European draws in Monaco, as neither Chelsea nor Strasbourg qualified for the Champions League, Europa League or Conference League. Eghbali and his sporting director team have been hands-on during the transfer window.
Late on deadline day, Chelsea thought they had secured a midfield signing in Lamine Camara from Monaco. Monaco sporting director Thiago Scuro was present at the Conference League draw and decided to pull the plug on the 47 million pound move to Stamford Bridge minutes before the 11pm deadline on Tuesday. The decision infuriated Chelsea, with sources describing it as a deeply unprofessional way for another club to conduct business.
Delay in midfield signing
Chelsea did not sign a replacement for Fernandez sooner because they were in a standoff with Manchester City approaching September 1. Moving for a replacement would have told their Premier League rivals they were ready to sell their top target. Up to deadline day, Chelsea insisted they would be happy to keep Fernandez if necessary.
City initially offered 104 million pounds before add-ons, but Chelsea eventually secured a fixed fee of 125 million pounds. However, they were left without a replacement after the Camara deal collapsed. Chelsea will now proceed with midfield options including Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Valentin Barco, Jordan Henderson and club captain Reece James. Malo Gusto is another candidate if required. The club has denied reports that they contacted 35-year-old free agent Georginio Wijnaldum.
Reece James as a midfielder
Sources suggest Alonso sees James as a midfielder. The captain has a strong record in that position, including last season. James played in midfield when Chelsea defeated Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 to win the Club World Cup, when they beat Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League, and when they thrashed Aston Villa 4-1 in the Premier League. He also played in midfield when Chelsea held Arsenal to a 1-1 draw after Caicedo received a red card in the 38th minute.
During the 2025 to 2026 season, James played 2,668 minutes in all competitions. According to Opta, 52 per cent of his time was spent at right-back, 42 per cent as a midfielder, and the remaining six per cent as a right-sided centre-back.
Refusal to name Chelsea
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca has repeatedly avoided saying the word Chelsea in public. Maresca has referred to them as "my former club", the "club where I was", or that "different club". When Chelsea announced they had reached a compensation settlement of 17 million pounds with City and an undisclosed amount with Maresca, their statement did not name him once.
Instead, Chelsea referred to Maresca as "our former head coach" three times. They ended the statement by describing Alonso as a "manager who has an exceptional football mind and is a professional of the highest integrity". Fernandez copied Maresca after signing for City, referring to "my previous club" in his first interview. The return of Maresca and Fernandez to Stamford Bridge in late April 2027 is expected to create a hostile atmosphere.
Stadium photography rule breach
Before each season starts, journalists are reminded that Premier League rules ban taking pictures or videos inside the stadium if players are on the pitch before, during and after fixtures. Former defender Gary Cahill, who now acts as an ambassador for Chelsea, was sitting in the press box and broke the rules by taking a photograph as Cole Palmer and the team emerged for their first home game.
Meanwhile, Danny Welbeck has been making a positive impression at the Cobham training ground. The 35-year-old striker, who joined from Brighton this summer, was generous with his time when a group of Chelsea academy players aged around 10 ran up to meet him.
