Christopher Nkunku praises his Chelsea teammate on social media after his performance in 2-2 draw against Arsenal
Chelsea summer signing Christopher Nkunku has hailed Thiago Silva after his superb defensive performance in his side's 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Saturday (October 21).
Silva, 39, rolled the back years with an assured showing at the back for the Blues. The Brazilian defender made three tackles, one interception, and blocked two shots as Mauricio Pochettino's side impressed against the Gunners.
However, the Chelsea star wasn't too happy to have missed out on all three points. He wrote on Instagram following the draw:
"It’s not the result we wanted, but I am very proud of the performance of the team. We keep going (Chelsea)."
Nkunku, 25, responded to his Blues teammate in the comments section, lauding Silva as:
"The beast."
Silva has been a mainstay in Pochettino's side this season, making nine appearances across competitions, helping his side keep three clean sheets. The veteran defender has displayed his experience and leadership during a difficult start to the season.
Chelsea have won just three of nine league games thus far and sit 10th in the Premier League table. However, they put in their best performance of the season against Arsenal.
Cole Palmer gave the west Londoners the lead from the penalty spot in the 15th minute before Mykhailo Mudryk lobbed Gunners goalkeeper David Raya in the 48th minute.
However, Blues goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gifted Declan Rice a superb strike in the 77th minute and Leandro Trossard grabbed an 84th-minute equalizer.
Nkunku missed the game due to a long-term knee injury he picked up during pre-season. He's expected to return around December and hasn't played any of the ongoing campaign.
Ruud Gullit argues Arsenal deserved a penalty in the draw against Chelsea
Dutch football icon Ruud Gullit insisted Arsenal should have been awarded a penalty in the 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge. Sanchez erratically came out to punch the ball to safety but instead clattered into Gabriel Jesus in the second half.
Jesus was left on the ground in a heap with Silva checking on his fellow Brazilian countryman. Gullit felt that a penalty should have been given to the Gunners, telling Premier League Productions:
"I think that this is a penalty. Because if you come rushing in like that and miss the ball, you just bang into the players – that’s a foul, an obvious foul. This is a penalty, if you do that as a player, it’s unbelievable for me. And he [Jesus] can get hurt like that."
Gullit continued by comparing the incident to that of Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana smashing into Wolverhampton Wanderers' Sasa Kalajdzic earlier in the season:
"It happened already before with Manchester United and [Andre] Onana against Wolves, same thing. I don’t understand why this is not a penalty, it’s a clear foul, you come too late and you can hurt somebody. They, VAR, should do something about it."
Sanchez put in a nervy performance against Arsenal and played his mistake leading to Rice's goal was disastrous. The Chelsea shot-stopper played a tame pass into the English midfielder's path who slotted home from long range.