Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has launched a scathing attack on his players following their humiliating 5-0 defeat to Arsenal, accusing them of ‘giving up.’
The Gunners secured their biggest-ever victory over their London rivals on Sunday, with Kai Havertz scoring twice against his former club. Chelsea supporters began departing the Emirates Stadium in droves during the second half as their team surrendered without a fight.
Pochettino did not hold back in his assessment of the performance, saying his players ‘gave up’ and showed a lack of competitiveness. He said: ‘We gave up. We conceded a goal so easily for Arsenal. After ten or 15 minutes we started to play a little bit. We started the game again. We talked about it at half-time.
‘But then we conceded two goals very quickly. You can lose but in the way we competed there is no excuse. After a tough game at Wembley we needed to provide the energy.’
Pochettino acknowledged that Chelsea have been inconsistent this season, but he refused to blame the players entirely. He said: ‘We are showing inconsistency because we have an amazing performance at Wembley and show the extremes. When we have bad days we are so bad when we are good we are capable of anything. We can be low and go high in a few days.’
Pochettino also pointed to the circumstances surrounding the team, including the building of a new squad. He said: ‘The club is building a new project and way to operate. It is always a risk to take when you build a new squad that sometimes the circumstances are not helping. We cannot blame the players, the circumstances are bigger than the players.’
Despite the heavy defeat, Pochettino remains confident in his team’s ability to bounce back. He said: ‘You cannot be unfair on the players.’
Chelsea will look to put the Arsenal debacle behind them when they host Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.