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The Blues coach was in no mood for excuses after watching his team suffer their fourth defeat of the season, at the Emirates Stadium.
Frank Lampard has threatened to drop his Chelsea stars after their loss to Arsenal, insisting they “lacked the basics of football.”
Chelsea lost a chance to climb to third place in the Premier League after being beaten 3-1 by Arsenal in the London derby on Saturday.
The Gunners entered the game as underdogs after a seven-game winless streak, but blew the Blues away with an action-packed first-half performance.
A penalty from Alexandre Lacazette and an impressive free kick from Granit Xhaka put the hosts 2-0 up before the break, and Chelsea’s night got even worse in the early stages of the second period.
Bukayo Saka threw the ball into the net for Arsenal’s third in the 56th minute after entering the area without a response, much to Lampard’s dismay on the visitors’ bench.
The Blues scored a late consolation goal through Tammy Abraham and Jorginho had a saved penalty in injury time, but fell in a well-deserved defeat that leaves them six points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool after having played. one more game.
Lampard has admitted that his players did not meet the minimum required standard demanded at Chelsea during the match at the Emirates Stadium, with the effort of his starting XI in doubt.
When asked why his team didn’t perform their best against the Gunners, the 42-year-old head coach said talkSPORT: “I cannot answer that because there are things that you can reflect on in terms of tactics, preparation and all those things, but in terms of effort it is something that has to be given in football. The players were wrong.
“I can’t defend the first half because they lacked the football bases.
“The message was clear to the players. It was going to be a tough game against a fighting team, a quality team, a team that would give it their all for a London derby. The players must assume responsibility for that first part.
Pressed on whether the rotation will be necessary before Chelsea’s meeting with Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Monday, Lampard said: “In some places, it certainly does. We will need some freshness, some people who deserve to play to show that they can play to the maximum, to the limit because the Premier League demands it.
“You can make the games easier for yourself if you want to start well and we’ve had some games like that this season. Today it was very difficult for us to return ”.
