N’Golo Kante struggled to make an impact as Chelsea were beaten 3-1 by Arsenal (Getty)
Glenn Hoddle has criticised Frank Lampard for how he used N’Golo Kante in Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday evening.
Chelsea’s miserable run continued at the Emirates Stadium as Frank Lampard’s side were three goals down by half time through Martin Odegaard’s double and Gabriel Jesus’ strike from close range.
Chelsea pulled a goal back via Noni Madueke in the second half but were unable to push on and the team have now suffered their sixth straight loss since Lampard was brought in as caretaker manager.
Hoddle, meanwhile, believes Lampard should have played Kante in a more defensive role in order to bring the best out of the World Cup-winning midfielder.
‘For me, the midfield I don’t get Kante playing in that position going from there,’ Hoddle told Premier League Productions.
‘I see him as one of the best holding players in the world, defensive midfield players in the world still at 32. Do that job. Do what your good at and then go and feed people who can go and play in those defensive areas.
‘It doesn’t suit him. He can’t go and play on the half turn, he can’t play with his back to play, he can’t score goals from that position. He might come up with one or two from distance playing in a deeper role.
‘You’ve got to play the right players in the right position.’
Frank Lampard has suffered six consecutive defeats since he became Chelsea’s caretaker manager (Getty)
Hoddle also believes a lack of communication throughout the team is a key factor behind Chelsea’s poor performances on the pitch.
‘There’s a hell of a lot of talent in that squad,’ Hoddle said.
‘Unless you’ve got the foundation, a foundation means a system, the lads at Chelsea are confused, there’s no clarity in the way they’re playing.
‘They’re all disjointed, the different units are disjointed. Looking outside in it’s difficult, but looking with a manager’s head those units needs to communicate with each other, the players, with the manager and the staff.
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‘You’ve got your strikers, the midfield and defence, that needs to be a team, they need to communicate off the pitch as well as on about how they feel that unit is working.
‘I don’t see that happening at Chelsea, not at this moment in time. And that’s how you get the foundation to a team that’s going to press. We always think about pressing high up the pitch which I think is right, against Arsenal at the moment that would’ve been a good tactic.
‘But you can actually drop into different areas and the distance [between players] becomes the same, press hard, really hard as a team collectively from an angle, but as long as you’re pressing together.
‘Normally when you get a team to press it’s the third guy who wins the ball or forces the error, there nowhere near that at the moment.’
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‘It doesn’t suit him.’