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Reece James admits Chelsea discipline 'a problem' after Arsenal loss
Chelsea went toe-to-toe with Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday, and while the Gunners came away with a 2-1 victory, the Blues were in the match until the final whistle.
It was another close game between the London rivals, after a pair of one-goal Arsenal victories in the Carabao Cup earlier this year and a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture back in November.
However, one factor going against the Blues in Sunday's match was their numerical disadvantage to end the second half, as Pedro Neto was shown two yellows in the span of three minutes to earn an early trip to the changing room. The Blues did well to make up for Neto's absence in the final moments, forcing a massive save from Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya to preserve the result, but disciplinary issues have plagued the London side all season long.
Including Neto's ejection on Sunday, Chelsea have now had a league-leading seven players sent off this season. It's a statistic that no club wants to top the Premier League for, and Chelsea captain Reece James said it's something that needs to change.
"We've spoken about it, it's come up a number of times, every time it's someone different, not the same player," James told Sky Sports after thhe final whistle. "Internally we need to review and keep improving. It's a problem, we are playing in the toughest league in the world, you play against top or bottom 11 v 11 it's tough, 11 v 10 is even harder no matter who you are playing.
"I have no doubt in the team and staff, it didn't go our way today but we need to regroup and go again."
Sunday's result means the Blues missed an opportunity to pull level on points with fifth-place Liverpool as the race for next season's Champions League continues. James feels his side needed to come away from the Emirates Stadium with at least a point as they chase European football.
"It's disappointing to walk away empty handed," he said. "When it was 1-1 we had a half chance to make it 2-1, their goalie made a good save, they got a set-piece and manage to score."
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