Chelsea news: ‘Lazy’ Havertz criticised as Potter takes aim at Saka after Arsenal loss
Graham Potter’s side were beaten 1-0 at home by Arsenal on Sunday afternoon and the defeat – and the nature of the winning goal – has sparked questions about the team
Chelsea suffered a third successive home defeat against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues’ poor run against the Gunners continued as Gabriel Magalhaes’ goal from Bukayo Saka’s corner was enough to give the away side a 1-0 win in the Premier League.
Arsenal ’s win sent them back to the top of the table and left Chelsea languishing in seventh place and without a victory in four games.
Before the match the story was all about Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s reunion with his former club.
Afterwards there were plenty of fresh talking points, with Chelsea’s defending for the winning goal and Saka’s behaviour on the pitch two of the major ones.
Here brings you the latest Chelsea headlines.
Havertz called out
Graham Potter admitted after the match that Arsenal were the better team and deserved their win – but the nature of the winning goal must have annoyed him.
Saka’s corner was allowed all the way through the heart of the Chelsea box before Gabriel tapped it in on the goal line at the back post.
Marc Cucurella’s touch-tight marking of Granit Xhaka got a lot of attention on social media post-match, but former Arsenal defender Martin Keown had a different target for his criticism.
“Kai Havertz has got to do better there,” Keown said on BT Sport. “He swings a lazy leg at that.” Havertz was the man at the front post who missed the initial clearance, allowing chaos to flourish behind him.
Potter unhappy with Saka
The London derby saw a bit of tension between Potter and Arteta on the touchline following a flashpoint involving Cucurella and Saka.
Saka went down and demanded a free-kick following a challenge from the Chelsea defender. He didn’t get it and ended up getting booked himself for a kick on Cucurella in a following challenge.
The incident saw a vehement disagreement between the two dugouts, but Potter was diplomatic enough to avoid calling Saka a diver.
“I think there was one action that was a little bit contentious shall we say but I don’t think he is that type of player,” he said.
Cech gets new job
Petr Cech left his role as technical and performance director at Chelsea during the summer revolution under Todd Boehly and he has now found a new role.
The former Chelsea goalkeeper isn’t just good at football – he is also passionate about ice hockey and that has taken him to a new club.
On Sunday it was announced that the 40-year-old, who previously turned out for Guildford Phoenix, had signed for NIHL South Division 1 side Chelmsford Chieftains for the 2022/23 season.
“Having a netminder of Petr’s quality and experience come into our squad is a huge boost for us right now,” said Chieftains head coach Mark Saunders.
“He brings a winning mentality, a desire to compete every single time he’s on the ice and we look forward to seeing him add to our group this campaign.”
