Former Premier League and England player Darren Bent has slammed Enzo Fernandez for his performance in Chelsea‘s 5-0 loss to Arsenal.
The Blues were humiliated at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night as Arsenal ran riot, recording their biggest-ever victory over Chelsea. Gunners fan Bent ripped into the performances of some of the Chelsea players, in particular Fernandez's.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Bent said:
“Chelsea at the minute look toothless, some of the performances from their team.
“Enzo Fernandez, £100m-plus, I need someone to tell me, and I know the argument will be someone will phone up or message in and go, ‘He's won the World Cup'.
“But, tell me what he does well? Because he's not a holder, because he has no idea what's going on behind him in terms of defensively.
“He's not someone who assists and creates opportunities for his teammates, his pass appreciation is awful, even his pass decision making is awful.
“And the biggest cheer he got last night [at the Emirates], is someone passing him the ball, and he started doing some stupid roll with his studs, rolling it forward and back, a bit showboaty when they were 4-0 down.
“And all the Arsenal fans went, ‘Whey', they cheered him, it got rolled back to him, he did it again, they cheered him again. Embarrassing.”
Has Enzo Fernandez underperformed for Chelsea?
When Chelsea bought Fernandez for over £100m off the back of winning the FIFA World Cup with Argentina, it is safe to say the Blues would have expected more from him. They finished in an unprecedented 12th place in the Premier League last season, and this term are in danger of missing out on European football again.
That is not all Fernandez's fault of course, as the team altogether have been disappointing. However, the midfielder has not exactly lived up to expectations. As Bent suggests, it is difficult to pinpoint what his best position is.
With just three goals and two assists in 28 league appearances this season, Fernandez does not suit an attacking midfield role. He also ranks below midfielders Moises Caicedo and Conor Gallagher for average tackles and interceptions per game, and has also picked up seven yellow cards, suggesting he should not be the deepest midfielder. Somewhere in between may suit him best, but even his pass accuracy is below Caicedo and Gallagher's.
Nonetheless, Fernandez must simply perform better considering his price tag. In his defence, Fernandez has been playing with an injury, and surgery has unfortunately ruled him out for the rest of the season. Chelsea will hope he comes back stronger, and show them why they spent so much on him.
