Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he took a risk starting Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in his side's 2-2 draw with Arsenal over the weekend.

Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez only got back to England from South America last Wednesday, and Mauricio Pochettino has now told the Evening Standard and other outlets that the pair were not fresh going into the Arsenal game.

Nevertheless, the Chelsea boss still started the Ecuadorian and the Argentine, with the clash against Mikel Arteta's men obviously being a huge one.

Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez not fresh Understandably, after all of the travelling that they had done during the international break, Caicedo and Fernandez were not at 100% at the weekend.

"Caicedo and Enzo arrived after two games in America and they were not fresh," Pochettino was quoted as saying by the Evening Standard. "But they are important players for us.

"It's really tough to arrive like that. I hope now they can recover and train and in one week be at their best."

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Mauricio Pochettino had to start Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez against Arsenal It is no surprise that Pochettino gambled and started both Caicedo and Fernandez in the 2-2 draw with the Gunners.

And the Blues obviously came close to earning all three points. Had it not been for Robert Sanchez's mistake late in the second half, they probably would have won the game.

With Romeo Lavia still out injured, Pochettino did not have too many other midfield options to turn to either.

Hopefully Caicedo and Fernandez can now get a bit of rest and are fresh for Chelsea's next London derby against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.