CHELSEA manager Frank Lampard believes his club can emulate Arsenal’s recent recovery if they are patient in their rebuilding process.
The Gunners are in the Premier League title race this season under Mikel Arteta after years of finishing outside the top four and missing out on the UEFA Champions League.
Lampard will lead his struggling side out against the Gunners at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow night, and the former England midfielder believes there is hope for Chelsea if they do the right things.
Chelsea spent over £600m on new players this season but are 12th in the Premier League standings after losing five straight games since Lampard took over as interim boss.
On the other hand, Arsenal are second in the Premier League and have already secured a Champions League spot for next season following remarkable improvement under Arteta.
The Spaniard had a tough start as Arsenal manager but has finally got them competing for the league title in his fourth season in charge.
“There is a long process in terms of getting to where you want to get to. I remember going up against Mikel in that early stage,” Lampard said ahead of tomorrow’s clash.
“Sometimes they played five at the back, sometimes four; now they have a clear identity. There has been a lot of work through the team, Mikel, alignment and good recruitment.
“Do we have the possibility to do that? Yes. Will it take time and good decisions? Absolutely, yes. But you can get there.
“The manager was being questioned, the players and owners were and that process can take two or three years. They are a great example of that done well.”
Lampard admitted that his players have lost their confidence due to the poor run of form, but charged them to continue to work hard.
“You can only work to get a level of performance to bring confidence back,” he noted.
“I’ve been here in moments where confidence has been low because nobody likes losing games. I had moments as a player where we dropped our standards as a collective and we had to lift it.
“Looking through history, we managed to get it back through hard work. We can only consider the future and work really hard to get the squad where we want it.”
