Chelsea's promising start to the season was halted by a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal, but former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes the result should not overshadow the progress being made under new manager Xabi Alonso.
Chelsea had opened their campaign with victories over Fulham and Brighton before travelling to the Emirates Stadium, where they fell behind before hitting back through an early goal. However, Arsenal fought their way back into the contest, with Kai Havertz levelling the scoreline and Martin Odegaard netting the winner in the second half to complete the turnaround for the hosts.
The defeat leaves Chelsea to reflect on a mixed opening to the season, though it comes against the backdrop of a difficult 2023-24 campaign in which the club finished a disappointing tenth in the Premier League. That season saw two managerial changes, with both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior losing their jobs before Alonso was brought in to lead a rebuild.
Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Neville expressed confidence that Chelsea are now moving in the right direction and tipped them as Arsenal's closest challengers for the title this season.
"I think they can finish second. Third is the lowest I see Chelsea finishing," Neville said.
The pundit contrasted his current outlook with his assessment of the club just twelve months ago, when he saw little clarity in Chelsea's direction.
"If you'd have said that to me a year ago, they were absolutely nowhere. I couldn't see where this project was going," he said.
Neville pointed to comments made by Alonso before the Arsenal fixture, in which the Spanish coach acknowledged that his rebuilding project at Stamford Bridge remains in its early stages. According to Neville, the manager's efforts to add experience through the spine of the team - with the likes of Martinez, Henderson, Lacroix and Welbeck - represent a sound strategic approach.
"He's trying to establish a bit of experience in the spine with Martinez, Henderson, Lacroix and Welbeck and I think it's the right way to go, you need good, experienced players in your dressing room," Neville said. "For me, I'm as positive as I have been for three, four, five years about Chelsea because I think they're going in the right direction."
Despite Sunday's loss, Neville argued that Chelsea's performance against a strong Arsenal side offered encouraging signs rather than cause for concern.
"It's not perfect. They were on the wrong end of a result against Arsenal because Arsenal are such a good team and I wouldn't expect them to beat Arsenal," he said. "But that was as good as I felt they could have done in the game and they can go home thinking, 'We can take confidence out of that defeat', and that doesn't sound right when you're at the elite level. But I think people will know what I mean by it."
Neville went on to stress that success in modern football cannot be measured purely by results, given how few clubs across Europe's top leagues ultimately lift major trophies each year.
"You can sit here and say, 'It's win or nothing', but that's not what football is. Only one team wins the league every year, only one team wins the Champions League every year," he said. "Every elite club in Europe - France, Spain, Germany, Italy - want to win it so there is an element of making sure you're seeing your club go in the right direction."
He concluded by suggesting that the club's travelling supporters would share his optimism about the team's trajectory under Alonso, even after suffering defeat against one of the league's leading sides.
"I think those fans in the corner that have travelled from Stamford Bridge will be buying into what they're seeing," Neville said.
Based on reporting from standard-football.