Chelsea can depend on Michael Essien

Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien made only his second start of the season in midweek in the Capital One Cup encounter against Arsenal and his performance on the night is being seen as a clear signal that the Ghanaian international is slowly but steadily getting back to his reliable best at the centre of the Chelsea midfield.

Truly, it seems a long time now since Essien joined the club back in 2005 when Jose Mourinho, in his first stint as Chelsea manager brought his to West London from French club Lyon for a fee of £ 26 million. He was an absolute beast for the club in defensive midfield during his first few seasons at the club before a knee injury slowed down his progress and last season, Mourinho took the player on loan to Real Madrid.

And it wasn’t seen by anyone as making up the numbers because Mourinho knows exactly what the midfielder is capable of and he used Michael Essien during his short stay with the club.
And now, reunited once again at Chelsea, the Ghanaian has found first team opportunities hard to come by with just one start before that match against Arsenal. He played the full 90 minutes against lowly Swindon Town in the last round of the Capital One Cup.

Essien played the full match against Arsenal, getting more touches on the ball than any other Chelsea player and he racked up an amazing 64 passes throughout the match, which was also, more than that managed by his teammates.

The 30 year old showed Mourinho exactly how dependable he exactly is and he had Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere bottled up completely. And with competition for places in midfield very high at Chelsea, Michael Essien has made it more interesting by throwing his name into the hat.