A young Chelsea fan delivered a damning assessment of their players by holding up a sign telling them that he doesn’t want their shirts, on a night where Chelsea were humiliated 5-0 by London rivals Arsenal.
Premier League leaders Arsenal ran rampant with former Chelsea star Kai Havertz and Ben White both bagging themselves a brace, after Leandro Trossard had opened the scoring four minutes into the game.
During the contest, the supporter held up the sign with pictures of the Chelsea kit, which read: ‘I don’t want your shirt!! ‘I want you to want to fight for ours. UTC (Up the Chelsea).
Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher was asked about the sign during his post-match press conference.
Responding to a question about the sign suggesting that Chelsea players don’t work hard enough, he said: ‘Well we are definitely putting the effort in.
‘I know how much it means to all the boys, I know it’s been said many times, it’s a very young squad with not much experience as a team in the Premier League.
‘We have had a lots of ups and downs and we are still improving and working together as a team to get to the next level.
‘Today was one of those days that we were nowhere near it.
‘We need to dust ourselves off and also look at the performance and where we can improve and all the mistakes where we can put it right and move onto the next one.’
The sign also caught the attention of Chelsea fans on social media.
One said: ‘The sign held by a fan at tonight’s game says it all… FIGHT FOR THE SHIRT!’
Another commented: ‘That sign the kid was holding broke me even more. Hang your heads in shame Chelsea.’
While a third suggested that Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino should nail the sign to the dressing room wall.’
It caps off a disappointing couple of days for the Blues who lost 1-0 to Manchester City in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, after squandering plenty of opportunities during the match.
Cole Palmer scored four for Chelsea in a 6-0 win over Everton, but even that was perhaps overshadowed after Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson argued that they should take a penalty ahead of the England international – who is the Blues’ designated penalty taker.
The heavy defeat by Arsenal leaves Chelsea ninth in the standings, though they are still just three points off sixth placed Newcastle with six games left to play.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
