Chelsea’s clash with Arsenal on Sunday was billed as a tongue-in-cheek title showdown. At the very least it was an opportunity for Xabi Alonso’s side to bloody the nose of the clear favourites to win the Premier League and announce themselves as genuine contenders.

The 2-1 defeat is a setback. “It hurts because a defeat has to hurt,” Alonso said after the game, signalling his desire to change the mentality of a dressing room that’s become far too used to losing under BlueCo’s widely condemned stewardship of the club.

His arrival as manager, the long overdue alteration to the transfer policy and some stunning work from the co-sporting directors to come out of the summer with a sizeable profit while improving the squad led many to suggest that Chelsea had ‘won the transfer window’. They were surely on the podium.

Seven goals in the first two games, the immediate clicking of JP Morgan (the moniker for the newly formed front three of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers) and the late signing of Emi Martinez has granted space for Chelsea fans to believe that they have a serious football team capable of challenging for the Premier League.

Defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates doesn’t change those pie in the sky beliefs; nor does the club’s failure to replace Enzo Fernandez on deadline day.

A lot was made of Chelsea ending the game with Reece James and Malo Gusto in midfield. “They’ve now got two full-backs in there” was the line from Gary Neville on commentary, blissfully ignoring James being a full-back-cum-midfielder for the last two seasons to make a point which therefore doesn’t really wash.

“They’ve been left a bit short in midfield,” Neville, questioning the sale of Fernandez to Manchester City for ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE MILLION POUNDS.

The Argentina international rarely looked worth that fee and – crucially – didn’t want to be there. It was wonderful business from Chelsea; failing to land a replacement in time doesn’t change that.

Ian Wright also picked out the midfield as the problem for Chelsea on Sky Sports, as did Ashley Young for BBC Sport. And each of them either brushed over or completely ignored the absence of Moises Caicedo, by far Chelsea’s best midfielder and comfortably one of the top five DMs in the Premier League.

Chelsea not replacing Fernandez won’t be the reason they fail to win the Premier League this season. Caicedo not being fit would be a reason, just as Declan Rice not being fit would have denied Arsenal last term.

With everyone available Chelsea have Caicedo, James, Romeo Lavia, Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson to play in two midfield positions. That’s fine.

It’s been unanimously agreed across the BlueCo era that Chelsea have had too many players; there have been Bomb Squads and rifts aplenty. Without European football this season Alonso will be thankful for not having a bulging squad which forces players to the margins and creates discord in the group.

Lamine Camara – the man poised to replace Fernandez at Stamford Bridge – might have been brilliant. He and Caicedo may have formed the partnership to drive Chelsea to the Premier League title. But so too could Lavia and Caicedo, or James and Caicedo, or Barco and Caicedo, with a bit of Henderson to manage games late on.

Alonso has options, and suggesting that Chelsea won’t challenge on the basis of a defeat to the champions away from home without their best midfielder makes little sense. Claiming they won’t win the title because the defence isn’t up to scratch? Absolutely fair.

Hitting the nail on the head after the game, Alonso said, “the squad are missing the injured player”; not the player they sold for £125m or the one they failed to sign to replace him.