Avram Grant: The best thing to happen to Antonio Conte was Chelsea losing 3-0 to Arsenal

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Vaishali Bhardwaj28 January 2017

Avram Grant believes Chelsea's humbling loss to London rivals Arsenal in September was the "best thing" to happen to Antonio Conte because it forced him to re-think his tactical set-up.

Conte, who became Chelsea's new manager last summer, began his debut season in England using a 4-3-3 formation and insisted he would tailor his football philosophy and tactics to the players he possessed at Stamford Bridge.

But after the Blues lost to Liverpool at home and then suffered a humiliating 3-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium five months ago, Conte instilled a 3-4-3 set-up for the trip to Hull - which kick-started a run of 13 league wins on the trot.

The Italian has kept faith in the formation despite seeing their winning streak come to an end against Tottenham in January, which has ensured Chelsea sit eight points clear of nearest rivals Arsenal in the top-flight standings.

Grant, who led Chelsea to the Champions League final during his only season in charge of the club in 2008, believes the loss at Arsenal was a blessing in disguise for the Blues and thinks Conte should be praised for being ready to change his tactics for the sake of the team.

"It was so bad the year before – the football, the relationships. But the players are good players. Hazard didn’t forget to play at 24, none of the players did. So Conte came at the right time, the players were also ready for the change and wanted the change," Grant told The Mail.

"What I like about Conte very much, is that I think he started [out trying] to please the supporters. He played 4-4-2 and he’d never played like this in his life, I’ve followed his whole career. He played three at the back with Juventus and had very good results in Italy; he came to Chelsea and changed.

Chelsea's winning run in the Premier League under Antonio Conte

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"There are coaches who can play different systems, like Alex Ferguson. Conte, (Arsene) Wenger, their style of play will not change and it’s not good for them to change because maybe they don’t know another system.

"I think the best thing to happen to Chelsea was that they lost 3-0 to Arsenal – then he came back his roots and they play a system that is also good for their players.

"They are doing great and I can only respect Conte – he’s not stubborn like others and said OK, it’s not going well, let’s change it.

"I know the players were not happy at the beginning but this is what leadership is about – not to worry if you’re happy at the beginning. He’s doing a really good job and Chelsea are playing very well."

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