Arsenal legend Wright picks out three Gunners stars for special praise in Chelsea comeback
Arsenal legend Ian Wright was pleased with contributions from Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz in the Gunners’ 2-2 draw against Chelsea on Saturday.
The Gunners came from two goals down to grab a point versus the Blues at Stamford Bridge over the weekend after Cole Palmer and Mykhaylo Mudryk had given Mauricio Pochettino’s side a commanding lead.
But, thanks to a mistake from Robert Sanchez, Rice got one back for Arsenal on 77 minutes before Leandro Trossard converted a Saka cross on 84 minutes to grab a share of the spoils.
Commenting on the Gunners’ two goals, Wright praised Arsenal duo Rice and Saka: “It was a brilliant technique [from Rice].
“He had to make sure it was curling away form the goalkeeper and he had a split second to actually execute that.
“That’s the kind of thing, for a team that’s fighting for something, that was the break they needed.
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“It’s a great cross from Saka [for the equaliser]. I think Gusto has got to have a word with himself.
“They cannot let Saka come back inside. Gusto looks at him and leaves him.
“That’s the two bits of quality Arsenal needed to show – Rice’s brilliant finish and Saka’s pin-point cross for Trossard. Those are the moments that gave us a point today.”
Kai Havertz has been criticised for his ineffective start to life at the Emirates Stadium following a £65m move from Chelsea in the summer but Arsenal legend Wright praised him for his 12-minute cameo against his former club on Saturday.
Wright added: “Kai Havertz came on. He had a presence and won us the ball there. And we got something out of that. In the main, you have to take something out of that simply because you can’t afford to lose that game.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta hailed his side’s “phenomenal” reaction to going 2-0 down at Stamford Bridge but the Gunners still “wanted more”.
Arteta said: “I think what went wrong was the start of the game. We didn’t play with enough purpose and clarity. We were just moving the ball without the intention to threaten them. That’s a really dangerous thing to do against teams like Chelsea.
“Then we didn’t win enough duels, and in tight areas when we had them, they escaped from that and they attacked open spaces, and they are really dangerous things to do.
“When we changed that and we changed the level after 20, 25 minutes, especially in the second half then it’s a different game. We became a much better team, even though we conceded the second goal and it’s a disappointment.
“The way the team reacted to the second goal is phenomenal from the players on the pitch and the players on the bench thinking ‘how the hell am I going to change this game?’ I loved that.
“I really liked as well going into the dressing room and it’s really quiet, after drawing 2-2 with Chelsea and coming back from 2-0 down, because I know that they wanted more. That’s the positive.”
