Former Arsenal forward, Paul Merson was reportedly “flabbergasted” by what he witnessed during Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to the Gunners in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.
After losing the first leg at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea went to the Emirates down by one goal.
Although the Blues kept Arsenal at bay offensively during the second leg, they provided very little attacking pressure and few clear-cut opportunities despite having to chase the game.
Kai Havertz’s late strike sealed the tie for the visitors, who had only two efforts on goal during the match and had to wait until injury time to apply pressure. Merson said he was taken aback by Chelsea’s approach.
See Also: Real Madrid Received Positive Reports On Two Teenage Midfielders As Summer Plans Take Off
Merson Criticizes Chelsea’s Game Plan
“I’m flabbergasted. I can’t believe what I’ve just watched. Chelsea have World Cup winners, this is not a bottom-five team,” said Merson as reported by The Irish Independent.
“Fofana is crying. He should be crying because they never had a go. They’ve gone out with a whimper in a semi-final. It hasn’t worked. Go out in a blaze of glory, don’t go out like that.
“They’ve got the players to mix it with Arsenal, and they didn’t have a go. I’ve played in games like that, and you come off and think, ‘we just got beaten and we’ve not really had a go’.
“They’ll be forever thinking about that in their footballing careers,” added the 57-year-old.
COMMENTS