During large periods of Wednesday night's clash with Arsenal, it felt hard not to, in some way, sympathise with Malang Sarr. After Andreas Christensen's short back-pass had handed Eddie Nketiah the opening goal on a plate, the lack of confidence within Chelsea's defence only grew.
Every touch of the ball for Sarr felt more challenging. Every decision seemed to take an extra second longer to be made, likely because of doubt. Unable to sort his feet out for Nketiah's second to make the game 3-2 couldn't have placed a better exclamation mark on this horrendous night.
Sarr, in the broader context, has been a player viewed in a mostly positive light this season. Used sporadically as either a centre-back or, during more stretched periods, a conventional left-back. Thomas Tuchel has used Sarr in interesting ways and tried to make use of a player who seemed destined for a loan last summer.
READ MORE: Why Thomas Tuchel got angry with Cesar Azpilicueta as growing Chelsea problem requires quick fix
Given a horrid time by a confident Bukayo Saka and looking vulnerable any time a ball was kicked in his general direction, even at the age of 23, this performance will be hard to recover from quickly.
But there is little more to examine about Sarr's performance. Little went right and in addition to that, this is a player who will likely finish the season with under 10 Premier League appearances, under 2000 minutes in all competitions. Sarr's place as a fringe figure in Tuchel's plans has never changed, and to the club, his 2020 signing on a free from Nice always felt like a low-risk deal. One that could either gain the first-team squad a bonus or attract a fee in the market.
After Wednesday, the future for the French defender looks more like the latter, even if some may see his value as pretty low after a bruising 90 minutes under such harsh light.
However, what Chelsea's imminent takeover is tasked with is wider questions over this current squad. Sarr's poor display brought some fans to rue the 2021 sales of Fikayo Tomori and Marc Guehi, two academy prospects who are already playing to a higher level than Sarr, starting for their teams on a weekly basis in the Premier League and Serie A.
Or how when Antonio Rudiger, arguably Chelsea's player of the season, goes down injured, the adequate quality in backup is not forthcoming.
It seems all set that Christensen will be departing for Barcelona in the summer. A player who 12 months ago was riding high on the best form of his career and now looking a shell of that defender. Slowly drifting away from the club he's been at since 2012, coming through the academy. He will need to be replaced also.
Sarr was not the only player whose performance raised concerns. Although captain Cesar Azpilicueta netted Chelsea's second equaliser of the evening before half-time, his tussle with Saka inside the penalty box guaranteed an Arsenal victory late on. His contract extension has not ruled out the possibility of an exit to Spain, and this was another game that questioned his ability to still perform at the required level.
His unfortunate spat with a Chelsea fan after full-time capped off a night to forget. Tuchel, when asked about the incident, backed the supporter over his captain: "I saw it. Honestly, I can understand the fan." he told reporters after.
You gaze forward beyond the defence and question another timid performance from N'Golo Kante, a word you feel blasphemous even associating with a player whose mere presence has won Chelsea many big games since he signed in 2016. But with injuries catching up with him and his performances dipping, the thought of a summer sale does not seem that ludicrous as his contract expires in 2023.
Romelu Lukaku's return to the first team was equally forgettable, most capped off by sections of the home crowd booing him as he was replaced by Kai Havertz with only an hour gone. A £100m problem that new ownership will have to answer from the off, how can you keep a player who looks so out of place?
Sarr can hopefully recover, and Chelsea, for the time being, will need to quickly before the end of this season. But the transfer questions are not going to evaporate that quickly. Chelsea still feels like a side with too many off-days within them to compete for a league title. Can that be resolved in one summer?
