Chelsea manager Pochettino defends selection for Arsenal thrashing

Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino defended his selection in the Premier League on Tuesday night.

Pochettino made several changes, most of them enforced, from the team that lost 1-0 in the FA Cup semi final to Manchester City.

However, they were undone 5-0 away from home by Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Post-game, Pochettino stated: I need to explain that Chalobah did not play at the beginning of the season and needed a rest, like Thiago, a 39-year-old that needs a rest, also. After a tough game at Wembley, we needed to provide the team with energy.

"We had Alfie [Gilchrist] because Reece James and Malo Gusto were not available to play and then we used Mudryk in the position of Palmer. The circumstance to make the decisions, that is what happened and we cannot change.

"The most difficult thing to accept is the way we started the game because the last 30 minutes of the first-half, we competed well and the game was even. We started to force them to make mistakes and created some chances.

"But then the way we started the second-half, how after you keep going, believing that you can compete better. In this moment I think the team started to suffer a lot and struggled to manage the game."