kenada_blue
Welcome to Barcelonaton FC
Of course, that doesn't help, and I don't think it would have made much difference either. However, as you can see from the link, Billy can operate in a space without any pressure. Right up to one of our midfielders has to put pressure on him, which leaves a lot of space and allows him to play through our lines. This is how Chelsea exploits its numerical advantage time and time again.
I think it does as you're basically playing with 10 men. The gaps were there purely down to a bad midfield.
Let's have it right with Gilmore, he's not Pirlo, hes not even Kante, he just did the basics right and found Mount and Barkley who are both comfortable on the ball in tight areas. Our midfield couldn't get near them. They didn't have any ball winners (Gilmore only made 1 successful tackle, and 1 interception).
Additionally, if you look at the reverse fixture you had Iwobi and Walcott helping out and putting pressure in their half. They did nothing going forward to be fair, but the legs to break down play is what was missing massively Sunday.