Frank Lampard has admitted that Timo Werner was not 'giving Chelsea enough' in the first half of their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Boxing Day, and called on the misfiring forward to adapt more quickly to the demands of the Premier League.
The 24-year-old was hooked off at half-time by the Blues boss on Saturday, having drawn yet another blank in front of goal, meaning he has now failed to find the net in his last 10 matches in all competitions.
This record only adds to the evidence that the £47.5m summer signing has failed to hit the ground running since leaving RB Leipzig, with many supporters calling for him to be dropped until he finds his feet.
And after the disappointing defeat to Arsenal, Lampard admitted that Werner 'will get judged on' his scoring abilities, and challenged the German international to 'get there quickly,' when it comes to acclimatising to the pace of the English game.
"Goals not going in is something an attacking player will get judged on," Lampard confessed.
"Timo wasn’t giving us enough with or without the ball. Some of it we have to give him time. I keep saying the same thing because it’s a different league, but we have to get there quickly."
Chelsea were completely outplayed by Arsenal on Saturday, and looked painfully disjointed when going forward. Werner was sacrificed at half-time by Lampard as he looked to change the game, bringing on Callum Hudson-Odoi in his place.
This switch allowed Christian Pulisic to return to his preferred left-wing role, and the American offered much more threat in that position that Werner had over the first 45 minutes. The Blues did improve on the whole in the second half, scoring late on and missing a penalty in injury time, which would have made for a nervy final few minutes.
Lampard's insistence on forcing the former Leipzig man into the side at the expense of the form of last season's star performer Pulisic is concerning some supporters, as the Blues paid the price once again against the Gunners.
Chelsea now sit in seventh place in the Premier League table, six points behind leaders Liverpool, who also hold a game in hand.
Source : 90min