Chelsea skipper Gary Cahill is in no doubt the club have added quality to the squad over the summer – but it is the quantity which is a worry for the England defender.
Conte has spoken out several times over his frustrations about the size of Chelsea’s squad and – despite adding Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko as well as Morata – Cahill shared those concerns.
Asked if he felt the champions’ squad was small, Cahill pointed to the squad lists on the back of the match-day programme – which had 24 Chelsea players listed compared to 41 from Arsenal.
“I don’t know, the back of the programme was interesting today,” he said.
“But in terms of quality we’ve certainly got that and you just have to hope we don’t have too many injuries.
“Obviously the new players that have just come, they’re going to be vitally important for us and the quicker they settle, the better, but there’s no doubt we’ve added quality to the team.”
“They’re going to be tested 100 per cent,” Cahill replied when asked about the strain on the players within the squad.
“We’ll see how that plays out, but we just have to keep everybody fit, keep everybody sharp. Rest is going to be important because we’re going to have a lot of games.
PA Sport