Paul Merson has slammed Chelsea's approach in their EFL Cup semi-final second leg clash against Arsenal. He claimed that the Blues went out in a "whimper" instead of taking the game to the hosts despite trailing after the first leg.
The Gunners hosted their London rivals in the second leg of their EFL Cup semi-final clash on Tuesday. They lead the tie by one goal after a 3-2 win at Stamford Bridge in the first leg last month. Arsenal eventually won 1-0 in the second leg, courtesy of a Kai Havertz goal in stoppage time.
After the game, Paul Merson slammed Chelsea's playing style in the game, saying on Sky Sports:
"I’m numb, I’m flabbergasted. I can’t believe what I’ve just watched. This is Chelsea Football Club, they’ve got international football players, they’ve got a World Cup winner, this isn’t a bottom-five team. He [Wesley Fofana] is crying, he should be crying because they never had a go."
"I’m lost for words, I can’t believe they never had a go. They’ve gone out with a whimper in a semi-final. It hasn’t worked. Go out in a blaze of glory, don’t go out like that," he added.
The Blues had 55% possession and attempted 11 shots, with two being on target, as compared to Arsenal's six shots, with two being on target.
Paul Merson claims Chelsea didn't need to play back 3 against Arsenal
Liam Rosenior started with a back three of Jorrel Hato, Trevoh Chalobah, and Wesley Fofana in the EFL Cup semi-finals second leg at the Emirates. He then switched it to a back four at around the hour mark, bringing on Estevao and Cole Palmer.
Paul Merson slammed Rosenior's approach against Arsenal and said:
"You look back now, I just think [Viktor] Gyokeres up front is struggling, just play two centre-halves, the two full-backs are very good in Gusto and Cucurella, they can look after the two wingers, they are good defenders one versus one, that gives you an extra forward to get on the pitch and they didn’t, they went with another defender and I don’t think they needed to."
He further added:
"I’d love to talk to the Arsenal players and ask, ‘are you shocked what happened tonight, did you think Chelsea would come and have a right go?’. Liam is talking like he come into Chelsea like they were fifth bottom in the league, they weren’t fifth bottom, they were still flying along, he’s talking about improvement, Chelsea fans won’t be happy with that, I’m sorry."
Arsenal will face either Manchester City or Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final. The Cityzens lead the tie 2-0 ahead of the second leg at the Etihad on Wednesday.