"He looked off in terms of his touch" - Mark Schwarzer criticises Chelsea star for his underwhelming display in 3-1 Arsenal loss
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has criticized midfielder N'Golo Kante's performance in the Blues' loss against Arsenal on Tuesday, May 2.
The west London side lost 3-1 at the Emirates in the Premier League. A brace from Martin Odegaard and a goal from Gabriel Jesus gave the Gunners a 3-0 lead within 34 minutes. Noni Madueke pulled one back for the visitors in the 65th minute but it remained a consolation goal.
In another poor overall performance from Chelsea, midfielder N'Golo Kante failed to make an impact against Arsenal. He lost possession 13 times and won just two of his five duels. He played one key pass as well but overall, the Frenchman wasn't effective in the game.
Kante's performance has drawn criticism from Schwarzer, who said (via Metro):
"Let’s not forget, this was Kante’s sixth start of the season. He looked off in terms of his touch. His passing wasn’t on it. The effort was there, but this wasn’t the Kante we’ve seen over the years."
He added:
"There are big names in the Chelsea team but they have had a dreadful season by Chelsea standards. They are a side really low on confidence. Nobody is putting their neck on the line. Nobody is going out there trying to express themselves."
Kante suffered a hamstring injury back in August and only returned to action in April. He has made just eight appearances across competitions this season.
Frank Lampard on Chelsea's loss against Arsenal
The Blues were second-best on the pitch against Arsenal and that was reflected in the scoreline as well. The Gunners made 16 attempts on goal, with 10 being on target, while Chelsea had just seven total attempts in the game.
After the game, caretaker manager Frank Lampard acknowledged his side's underwhelming display, saying (via Chelseafc.com):
"The first-half performance was not good enough, in every way. We were too nice to play against, nice off the ball, passive, things we talked about before the game defensively we did not do."
He added:
"We did not restrict the space between lines, we did not get the line up as much as we needed to, we did not affect pressure on the ball, we did not make contact with Arsenal players. On the ball the same, passing short, playing to position, not playing longer, not making forward runs. Things that we spoke about and if you play like that, you get what you deserve."
This was the Blues' sixth straight loss across competitions. They are 12th in the Premier League table, just nine points above the relegation zone.
Arsenal, meanwhile, moved back into the top spot, taking a two-point lead over Manchester City, who have two games in hand.