Chelsea slipped to their sixth successive defeat since Frank Lampard's return as interim manager at Arsenal on Tuesday; Gunners won 3-1 to leave Blues 12th, just nine points above the relegation zone; Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Cesc Fabregas hit out at Chelsea players after latest loss
Wednesday 3 May 2023 14:53, UK
Jamie Carragher described Chelsea as "an absolute mess" during their 3-1 defeat at Arsenal, adding that the Blues' decline over the past 12 months has been "astonishing".
Chelsea went three goals down within 34 minutes at the Emirates as Arsenal - who had not won in four games - toyed with their London rivals.
Frank Lampard's side ensured the scoreline was slightly more respectable by the final whistle but the interim manager has now overseen six successive defeats since returning to Chelsea, with just two goals scored in that time.
Speaking to Sky Sports during commentary of Arsenal's win, Carragher slammed the performance of Chelsea's players in north London and criticised Todd Boehly's decisions since completing his takeover of the club last May.
"Absolutely superb from Arsenal and absolutely shocking from Chelsea," said Carragher. "This club is an absolute mess.
"This could get an awful lot worse unfortunately for Lampard and his staff and supporters.
"It’s embarrassing from Chelsea. It’s like five-a-side. It sums Chelsea’s season up. To see how far they have fallen in these last 12 months is astonishing.
"It tells you spending all the money you have is nonsense. You need to create a connection. Todd Boehly, the plans and ideas he had, it doesn’t work doing that.
"They still have quality players on the pitch. To lose six games on the bounce is not acceptable. To think of the success this club has had - since Arsenal last won the title, Chelsea have won 19 trophies.
"Chelsea expect the best, expect standards. This is a million miles away from it."
Lampard hit out at Chelsea's first-half performance, describing his side as being "too nice" and insisting his players' lack of confidence was no excuse for their display.
"The performance first half was nowhere near good enough," Lampard told Sky Sports. "Too nice to play against, too passive.
"Defensively the line wasn't coming up, which was giving them space. In possession we weren't playing over their press. All the things that make you a nice team to play against, we did.
"The second half was better but the result's relatively confirmed by then.
"I don't want to say the low-on-confidence thing too much because when you're playing for Chelsea there's a level of performance. You can still be low on confidence but show a dynamic side to your game.
"They have good players but you can make them feel hurried - we didn't.
"Maybe it doesn't even matter what the core reason is because the only thing that will get you out of it is working hard.
"At the minute we're a little bit conditioned in a way that makes us pretty nice to play against. That's what a Chelsea team hasn't been in recent years and that's what needs to change."
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink accused his former side of not working hard enough against Arsenal as they slipped to their sixth defeat in their last seven games against the Gunners.
"This is what can happen when you're not at it, when you don't do the fundamentals right, when you don't work hard enough," the ex-Blues striker told Sky Sports.
"The intensity today was very low. Leaving crosses going into the box, not putting your body on the line. When you do those things you're going to struggle.
"The Premier League is unforgiving. You need to be at it every game. There's a lot of new players but certain things you need to see all the time - hard work and being competitive. We didn't see that in the first half.
Cesc Fabregas, who won two Premier League titles with Chelsea, told the Blues players to "look into the mirror" instead of pinning the blame on Lampard.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the midfielder said: "We used to have a coach when we were little and it was like we had 11 olives - you throw them on the table and that's the tactic you're looking at.
"I couldn't believe the tactical and technical mistakes we were seeing from Chelsea players. You have to look into the mirror and ask yourself questions.
"Nowadays the easy excuse is to look at the manager. The manager doesn't play. It's 11 players who need to show up.
"You train during the week to show heart and show ambition to win, like Arsenal did tonight. Chelsea didn't do that."
However, Fabregas insisted there can be light at the end of the tunnel for Chelsea if they finally end their search for a new head coach by picking the right candidate.
Fabregas recalled the events of Chelsea's 2015/16 season, which saw Guus Hiddink replace Jose Mourinho on an interim basis before Antonio Conte was appointed ahead of the new season, with the Italian going onto win the Premier League the following campaign.
"Six years ago we had a really bad season with Chelsea," explained Fabregas. "We finished tenth. Mourinho left, Hiddink came and he started to play younger players to give them experience.
"In April they signed Conte, who came to the training ground, spoke to us individually to start fresh for a new season.
"We won the Premier League. It's not impossible. I was there. I lived it. If you bring someone in with the experience and character, who can give clear ideas, it's doable."
May 6: Bournemouth (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 13: Nottingham Forest (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm
May 21: Manchester City (A) - Premier League, kick-off 4pm
May 25: Man Utd (A) - Premier League, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports
May 28: Newcastle (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm
