"He is still not at his best" - Mauricio Pochettino sends warning to Chelsea star despite impressive display vs Arsenal
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has stressed that Mykhaylo Mudryk needs to improve despite his good performance against Arsenal on Saturday, October 21.
The Blues played out a 2-2 draw against their London rivals at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. Cole Palmer opened the scoring for the hosts in the 15th minute from the penalty spot after William Saliba's handball.
Mudryk then doubled their lead in the 48th minute after arguably an attempted cross flew over David Raya's head into the goal. The Ukrainian winger put in a decent performance, winning 50 percent of his ground duels and having one shot on target. He was replaced in the 66th minute by Nicolas Jackson.
After the game, Chelsea manager Pochettino acknowledged Mudryk's performance but added that the winger needs to improve. When asked if the Ukrainian was subbed off due to fatigue, he said (via Metro):
"No. I think he played well but he also needs to improve. For me, he is still not at his best. I think we needed to make a change to add a little bit more pressure with Jackson in front."
"In that situation, we created a few chances and the game was closer to 3-0 than 2-1," he added.
Mykhaylo Mudryk has been in decent form this season, especially having scored his first Chelsea goal against Fulham on October 2. Since arriving from Shakhtar Donetsk for €100 million in January, the 22-year-old has registered two goals and two assists in 26 games for the Blues.
Arsenal fight back against Chelsea to salvage their unbeaten run
The Gunners were the second-best side for much of their clash against Chelsea and saw themselves being 2-0 down after 48 minutes. It appeared the Blues might end Arsenal's unbeaten run in the Premier League this season.
However, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez gave the ball away in the 76th minute for Declan Rice to score. Leandro Trossard then scored in the 84th minute via a Bukayo Saka cross to secure a point for Arsenal.
The Gunners are now unbeaten after their first nine Premier League games of the season, with six wins and three draws. They are also unbeaten in London derbies since the start of last season with 11 wins and five draws.
Arsenal are second in the league, level on points with leaders Manchester City but behind on goal difference. Chelsea, meanwhile, moved into 10th place, eight points away from top four.