Liam Rosenior told £40million Chelsea start cannot start against Arsenal | Football
Former Chelsea star Craig Burley has warned Liam Rosenior he cannot afford to start Alejandro Garnacho against Arsenal in next week’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.
The Blues continued their impressive start to life under their new manager against West Ham on Saturday after staging a spectacular second-half comeback.
Rosneior’s side were booed at the break after going 2-0 down, but Stamford Bridge was buzzing at the final whistle following Enzo Fernandez’s injury-time winner.
Enzo Maresca’s successor has now won six of his seven games at the helm and it was his substitutions that helped turn the tide against the Hammers who looked firmly in control at the break.
The decision to hook Garnacho at half-time proved particularly decisive after the Argentina international produced a dismal first-half performance.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka comfortably bagged his former Manchester United teammate to reveal his lack of defensive aptitude, playing a part in goals from Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville.
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Such was Chelsea’s improvement in the second half that Burley believes Rosenior now has enough evidence to suggest Garnacho should be relegated to the bench against the Gunners, even though it was the 21-year-old’s two goals that brought his side back to the draw a fortnight ago.
“Alejandro Garnacho is the type of player who comes on between 75 and 80 minutes when everyone is exhausted and he has a little space to use his rhythm,” Burley told ESPN FC.
“But as a starter for Chelsea? No, no.
Burley’s fellow pundit Steve Nicol went further to claim the £40m summer signing would not have lasted in the game if he had plied his trade 20 years ago due to his provocative style of play.
He said: “I’m not a fan of Garnacho in many ways, not just on the football field. I don’t like his attitude and attitude.
“I don’t like his last ball which drops him too often. Because of his pace, he positions himself half a meter from defenders, but too often he chooses the wrong pass or makes the wrong decision. I don’t like the way he plays.
“Can you imagine him playing 25 years ago? He would be in the hospital most weekends.
“We were always told don’t do anything to encourage the opposition, the fans or anyone trying to beat you, don’t do anything to encourage them to want to beat you.
“He’s the kind of guy that the way he plays makes everyone who’s against him want to make sure he doesn’t do well.”
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