Frank Lampard rues ‘basic errors’ against Arsenal and reiterates desire to sign a new striker

Hector Bellerin’s late equaliser denied Blues victory at Stamford Bridge in a chaotic encounter

Tom Kershaw
Wednesday 22 January 2020 00:23 GMT
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Lampard watches from the touchline during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Arsenal
Lampard watches from the touchline during Chelsea's 2-2 draw with Arsenal (EPA)

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Frank Lampard reiterated his desire for Chelsea to sign a striker in January after watching his side succumb to a chaotic 2-2 draw against 10-man Arsenal.

Chelsea dominated much of the game after Luiz received a straight red card in the first half, following a calamitous miscued backpass from Shkodran Mustafi. Jorginho scored from the resulting penalty, however, Chelsea failed to take advantage of their dominance, struggling to create clear-cut chances and failing to convert them when they emerged.

There was further concerns too for Lampard as Tammy Abraham limped off at the full-time whistle.

“I’m not a massive believer in looking at the age,” Lampard told BBC, with the club linked to an approach for PSG’s 32-year-old striker Edinson Cavani. “Do we have to have a better shot conversion, yes. I have spoken about that a lot.

“You can’t say we will definitely sign a striker this month but we are looking because there is a fine line in football. If you don’t score enough goals then you won’t win enough games.

“It’s a tough run coming up. It’s frustrating because you can’t say we played terribly. That’s just as important though. We have to get that right. I am pleased to be fourth but we should have a lot more points with the way we have been playing.”

Lampard also lamented the “basic errors” which had cost his side, with Abraham missing a header from six yards out in the first half before N’Golo Kante’s slip allowed teenager Gabriel Martinelli to race through to score Arsenal’s first equaliser.

“I am disappointed given the situation of the game,” he told BT Sport. “We completely deserved to go 1-0 up.

“For a little bit after that we were getting used to them with 10 men. But we created enough chances in the second half, it was just the same old story, we couldn’t take them.

“In football basic errors can cost you points.”

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