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Ian Wright has criticized Chelsea stars Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson for their performance in the Blues' humiliating 5-0 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday, April 23.
The Gunners ran riot at the Emirates against Mauricio Pochettino's side, comfortably securing all three points in the London Derby. Leandro Trossard opened the scoring within four minutes for Arsenal. Ben White and Kai Havertz grabbed a brace each in the second half to end a disappointing night for Chelsea.
Speaking on Premier League productions after the game, Wright called out Madueke and Jackson for failing to perform in Cole Palmer's absence. The England international missed the derby due to injury.
Wright recalled Chelsea's 6-0 league win over Everton (April 16) that saw Madueke and Jackson get into an argument with Palmer over a penalty. The Arsenal legend said (via Football.London):
"We saw that big incident over the penalty, players fighting for the ball. Those two players (Jackson and Madueke) are not exactly pulling up trees with their performances."
He added:
"They have the confidence and the cheek to do that to the best player in the team (Cole Palmer), but when you really need them they're not turning up. It seems to me that their minds are not on what they need to do."
The Gunners will next face Tottenham Hotspur away on Sunday (April 28) while Chelsea play Aston Villa away the night before.
Mauricio Pochettino on whether Chelsea are 'too reliant' on Cole Palmer after Arsenal humiliation
Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that Chelsea were missing something in attack without Cole Palmer in their loss to Arsenal this week.
The English attacker has been in exceptional form in his debut season at Stamford Bridge and has undoubtedly been the club's best player. He has racked up 25 goals and 13 assists in 42 appearances this campaign, level with Erling Haaland as the Premier League's top goalscorer.
His absence from the lineup against Arsenal caused doubt over whether the Blues could find the net without him. The criticism that seemed justified by the humiliating 5-0 result.
During his post-match press conference, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino was asked whether his team relies solely on Cole Palmer to create chances. He said:
"Maybe with him, the team today, maybe it could be the same situation. But of course, Palmer is doing well for us. He is the only player we have, a playmaker who links all the lines in the team. When you miss a player like this, it is not easy to replace."
He added:
"But I think it was a great opportunity to step up for different players. It's true, we didn't compete. I cannot blame the players. We are showing this inconsistency, that is why we are where we are."
"When we have bad days, we are so bad. When we are good, we are capable of everything. That is another thing we need to be aware of, that we need to increase for the future."
Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League table, three points behind sixth-placed Newcastle United.
