Mauricio Pochettino is ‘tripping himself over not to have a go at his players’, says Martin Keown as he urges Chelsea manager to have ‘harsh words’ after 5-0 drubbing at Arsenal and blasts club’s recruitment
- Arsenal demolished Chelsea in the Emirates to send a message in the title race
- Blues remain ninth in the Premier League after the humiliating defeat to their rivals
- Prejudices and prejudices are dangerous claims made by these clubs. Liverpool, Arsenal and now Forest. It’s Embarrassing – Listen to the It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has urged Mauricio Pochettino to speak ‘tough words’ to his team after seeing Chelsea capitulate to a 5-0 defeat to the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta’s side put the Blues to the sword at the Emirates with a devastating second-half performance that saw them move three points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Chelsea, on the other hand, without their talisman Cole Palmer, fell to their eleventh defeat of the campaign. Nevertheless, Pochettino was reluctant to publicly admonish his players in his post-match interview.
However, Keown believes the time has come for the former Tottenham boss to speak strong words to his young squad, many of whom have arrived at Stamford Bridge for big money.
“The balance in recruitment has been wrong and they have spent a fortune, a billion pounds and a billion worth of signatures.” He said this to TNT Sports. ‘It’s unbelievable. There need to be some tough words, and they need to come from the manager too.
Mauricio Pochettino publicly refused to invite any of his players in his post-match interview
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown believes the time has now come for the Chelsea boss to have ‘harsh words’ for his team
Chelsea suffered their biggest ever defeat against Arsenal in the Emirates on Tuesday evening
‘He’s letting him trip over himself by not attacking these players. I can see he is observant, but the reports are not there for the poor start to the match by the players in both halves.
“You look at the set piece, and it’s down too. As much as management is for the players. ‘
Arsenal took the lead after just four minutes on Tuesday evening when Leandro Trossard’s low drive deflected Djordje Petrovic at his near post. However, the Gunners had to wait until a few minutes from time to secure the result.
Ben White’s first of the night came from a loose ball in the area in the 52nd minute before Kai Havertz grabbed his tenth goal of the season just five minutes later.
Both players doubled their total for the evening in the second period to give Chelsea Arsenal’s biggest ever win.
The result leaves the Blues in ninth place as they missed their chance to move level with Newcastle in the Premier League’s top six. European football remains a realistic goal for the side, even if their quest has certainly been tarnished after the humbling defeat.
“It’s frustrating for the manager.” said ex-Chelsea winger Joe Cole. ‘The next game against Aston Villa is crucial because because they have to recover, it has to be a better performance.
The Blues’ aspirations of qualifying for Europe have suffered a huge blow, although they are just three points off sixth place
‘My phone exploded. You know, the fans are messaging me, and I think they’re losing. The game. And then you lose a match to your London rivals that way. And I think that will really stick with the fans.”
Rio Ferdinand added: ‘None of us will be surprised if Chelsea get a result against Villa next weekend.
‘This is what this Chelsea team is like. That’s them in a nutshell. But what I would say is: Mauricio Pochettino, when he is assessed at the end of the season, I think this will be one of the first things he says: “What do you expect? I have one of the youngest players.” I invested in a lot of potential everywhere in the park, not in a real end product.”
