Ex-Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley has lambasted Benoit Badiashile and Mykhailo Mudryk for their sub-par performances in a 5-0 Premier League loss at Arsenal on Tuesday (April 23).During their recent trip to the Emirates Stadium, the Blues were the second best in a contest largely dominated by the hosts. Kai Havertz and Ben White both bagged a brace each in the second half after Leandro Trossard scored a left-footed opener in the fourth minute.
In the aftermath of the latest encounter, Burley expressed his dissatisfaction about a number of Chelsea stars’ displays against Mikel Arteta’s outfit. Calling Badiashile out, he told ESPN FC
Badiashile, who arrived for close to £33 million from AS Monaco past year, started his team’s clash at Arsenal beside fellow centre-back Axel Disasi. The 23-year-old completed 94 of 106 passes, and won one of two tackles and four of seven overall duels during the game.Pinpointing Mudryk as a weak link in the Blues’ lineup, Burley added:
“Mykhailo Mudryk, once again, he might as well have not been there.”
Mudryk, who rejected Arsenal to join Chelsea in a £89 million transfer last January, failed to threaten the Gunners’ defence earlier on Tuesday. He completed 14 of 22 passes and zero of two dribbles, registered zero shots, and won one of four overall duels in the contest.
Craig Burley hits out at Chelsea attacker
Speaking on ESPN FC, Craig Burley claimed that Nicolas Jackson is not fit to play for his former club following his disappointing display against Arsenal this Tuesday. He said:
“To me, Nico Jackson is limited in every facet apart from being quick to get in behind. And yet somebody looked at him when he was playing for Villarreal and went, ‘This guy can lead the line for us’. He’s not a link-up player, he’s not going to pass the ball, and when the ball does come into the box, he looks frightened of it.”
Jackson, who started up top in a 4-2-3-1 setup for Chelsea, missed two gilt-edged chances in both halves against Arsenal. He completed 17 of 22 passes and two of three dribbles, and won one of one tackle and seven of 14 total duels during his 90 minutes of action.So far this season, the seven-cap Senegal international has bagged 13 goals and provided five assists in 38 overall appearances for Chelsea.
