Frank Lampard highlights 'quiet' Cole Palmer problem after Chelsea draw vs Arsenal
11/10/2024 02:53 PM
Frank Lampard hailed another 'fantastic' performance from Moises Caicedo in Chelsea's draw against Arsenal with Cole Palmer struggling to make an impact against the Gunners.
The Gunners took the lead through Gabriel Martinelli on the hour mark at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Mikel Arteta's side were unable to hang on to what would have been their first Premier League win in four games with Pedro Neto lashing home a fine effort 10 minutes later.
Caicedo has played an integral role in Chelsea's return to form this season with his partnership with Romeo Lavia in midfield a key foundation to their success under Enzo Maresca so far.
In assessing his former side's performance, Lampard heaped praise on the Ecuador international, also backing Neto to go from strength to strength in a role on the right of attack with most of his football this season coming from the left.
The former England international was left a little disappointed by Palmer's performance, however, with the club's top scorer this season struggling to pick his way through a stubborn Arsenal side.
'He’s [Pedro] clearly more effective coming off the right hand side and I think we will see more of him there in the future,' Lampard told Premier League Productions.
'We are seeing players grow in this team, I think Caicedo as fantastic again today.'
Assessing Palmer's performance, Lampard suggested Palmer was too restricted to the left side of the pitch with his game suffering as a result.
'Cole Palmer was more quiet,' Lampard continued.
'He found himself more on the left side of the pitch and I felt like it closes the game for him a bit on that side rather than coming in off the right or being more central.
'These are little things they can tweak and improve as they go but they competed against a good Arsenal team.'
A draw on Sunday keeps Chelsea in third place, ahead of Arsenal on goal difference with Nottingham Forest and Brighton also joining them on 19 points from 11 games.
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