It was another forgettable night at Stamford Bridge for Chelsea who went down 4-2 to London rivals Arsenal, consequently suffering their third straight home defeat. Although the loss will most likely prove ineffectual in terms of where Chelsea finishes this season, it was still a bitter pill for Blues fans to swallow.
Leading the inquiry immediately after the game was Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who was part of the Sky Sports punditry team. And he didn’t hold back in his criticism of not only Chelsea as a collective, but also key players within the side.
One of those singled out by Hasselbaink was Romelu Lukaku who had little to no impact in what was his first Premier League start in over two months. The 28-year-old was of course signed for a mammoth £97.5million last summer and expected to take Chelsea to a new level following a scintillating two years with Inter Milan in which he bagged 64 goals in 95 appearances.
But, so far, he’s managed just 12 goals across all competitions, with only seven of those strikes coming in either the Premier League or Champions League.
Those issues have not all been down to Lukaku alone, and Thomas Tuchel has alluded on more than one occasion that Chelsea must try to do more to "understand him better" as a player. Yet Lukaku isn’t blameless either, and the sympathy from Chelsea fans is starting to waver as his work ethic and commitment both continue to come into question.
“For Chelsea today it was a really bad performance. Certain players are getting an opportunity, Lukaku, (Malang) Sarr and (Andreas) Christensen,” said Hasselbaink. “He (Lukaku) doesn't do enough. If you want to be the man you've got to run around. You need to try and show that you're bothered. You need to want to suffer. He doesn't run around”.
The former Chelsea striker then went on to question the 28-year-old’s desire. “Lukaku, you've not had the best games show that you are the man and really want it. Go and show that desire I didn't see it. That desire, I didn't see it.”
These accusations carry some merit, particularly when it comes to Lukaku’s work rate without the ball. Strikingly, from the 127 Premier League forwards who have played over 600 league minutes this season, Lukaku ranks third-bottom in terms of the number of defensive pressures he’s made on a per 90 basis (8.54).
There could be a case made that the Belgian plays for a side that dominate the ball, and as a result, he’s bestowed fewer pressing opportunities.
However, within that same list of 127 players, Diogo Jota ranks inside the top ten, while Liverpool teammate Roberto Firmino ranks 14th - and Liverpool boasts a higher possession average than Chelsea this season. You also have Chelsea players like Christian Pulisic sitting as high as 24th.
Lukaku’s primary job is to score goals, and it’s fair to say that there are some factors influencing his ability to do so, like the structure of the team which does not play to his strengths.
Yet desire and commitment are two areas that he can control, and right now both are missing.
