ANGRY Frank Lampard tore into Chelsea’s waster and moaned: “We’re in fourth position and that’s seen as pretty good but there should be at least another ten points on the board.”
The Blues boss was left shocked when his young team twice surrendered the lead against ten-man Arsenal, who scored with their only two shots of the match at Stamford Bridge.
Angry Frank Lampard tore into his Chelsea flops after more dropped pointsCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
He said: “When you go 2-1 up with five minutes to go you have to get the basics right. We gifted them their first goal and the second goal was also soft.
“For a right-back to be able to cut inside and roll it into the far corner is too soft. We have to be honest about that.
“It’s the same old story of creating a lot of chances and not taking them and we have to take a look at ourselves for that.
“Their first goal came because N’Golo Kante slipped over but that wasn’t the error that cost us. It came on the edge of our own area because people ran forwards when they should have been running back.”
There was a further blow for Lampard when top scorer Tammy Abraham suffered an ankle injury after colliding with an advertising hoarding just before Hector Bellerin’s 87th minute equaliser.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was understandably delighted with his team’s fightback after former Chelsea defender David Luiz was sent-off for a 26th minute foul on Abraham.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was delighted with the way his team fought back with only ten menCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
He said: “It was a very special game for David and he was disappointed to get sent-off but he’s proud of his team-mates.
“When someone makes a mistake and someone else has to take a red card for him, all the other players have to stand up for him and they all did that.
“The spirit, character, fight and leadership were all there. We are playing with a lot of young kids and what they showed tonight is going to be a great experience for them. If you put everything in, anything can happen.”
Arteta was particularly pleased with 18-year-old Gabriel Martinelli, who became the first Arsenal teenager since Nicolas Anelka in 199 to score ten goals in a season.
He said: “To play in this stadium with ten men against some of the best defenders in the league takes real courage and energy.
“I wanted to take him off a few times because he was knackered and cramping up, but the next minute he was sprinting 60 yards again.”
Granit Xhaka, who moved into defence after Luiz’s red card, added: “A lot of people say we have no character in this team. After this game we showed that we have.”
“After this game nobody will have to speak about us. We showed big character. A lot of people say we have no character in the team, so after this game we showed we have.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
