By El Akyereko Frimpong
Follow the writer on Twitter: @AkyerekOfficial
Jose Mourinho has surprisingly omitted Ghana defender Baba Rahman from his Chelsea squad to face Arsenal in the English Premier League early kick-off on Saturday afternoon.Â
In his place the under-siege Portuguese gaffer has restored Spanish Cesar Azpilicueta to the left-back role while Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic returns to the right-back slot.
Mourinho handed the 21-year-old Ghana international his debut appearance on Wednesday in the Uefa Champions League and he overly excelled in the role achieving 91% passing accuracy and scoring high defensive and offensive marks.
General consensus among Chelsea fans was for Mourinho to retain Baba in the role for Arsenal's clash and keep Ivanovic on the bench.
But the renowned tactician has gone contrary to the popular view by totally leaving out the former Asante Kotoko defender and Dreams FC product out his 18-man squad for the game.
Mourinho's decision remains conspicuous and could face harsh criticism from fans if they fail to win against Arsenal in the game.
Find the Chelsea starting line-up and substitutes below.
Team to face Arsenal: Begovic; Ivanovic (c), Zouma, Cahill, Azpilicueta; Matic, Fabregas; Pedro, Oscar, Hazard; Diego Costa. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 19, 2015
Today's subs: Blackman, Terry, Mikel, Ramires, Loftus-Cheek, Falcao and Remy. #CFC
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) September 19, 2015