Alan Smith branded Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez a ‘bag of nerves’ during the Blues’ Carabao Cup semi-final first leg defeat to Arsenal.
Sanchez made two big errors as Chelsea suffered a 3-2 defeat to Premier League leaders and London rivals Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
The Chelsea goalkeeper first failed to deal with a relatively innocuous corner, allowing Ben White to head into a virtually empty net after just seven minutes.
White played a significant role in Arsenal’s second, with Sanchez unable to palm away his drilled strike and Viktor Gyokeres handed the straightforward task of prodding home.
Chelsea sensed a comeback when Alejandro Garnacho halved the hosts’ deficit on the hour mark but Martin Zubimendi added Arsenal’s third soon after and this time Sanchez was not to blame.
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Garnacho scored again late on but Chelsea were unable to find a leveller meaning they face a one-goal deficit ahead of the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at the Emirates Stadium.
Smith slammed Sanchez after both of Arsenal’s goals at Stamford Bridge, describing the goalkeeper as a ‘bag of nerves’ and ‘vulnerable’.
‘That’s incredible, isn’t it?’ Smith said on Sky Sports after White’s early opener. ‘How easy is that for Ben White.
‘They didn’t have to do anything particularly special here, Arsenal. Yes the ball was delivered well but Sanchez gets blocked out, quite possibly by his own player.
‘He waves a hand at it and gets nowhere near it. Ben White wasn’t even expecting it, it’s such a soft goal.
‘Chelsea will have had a plan to deal with Arsenal’s set pieces but it’s fallen apart. He looks a bag of nerves, Sanchez, he looks vulnerable. You’ve got to be stronger.’
After Arsenal’s second of the night, Smith added: ‘It’s another goal where the keeper, Sanchez, doesn’t come off favourably.
‘He just takes the weight off it, Sanchez, and puts it perfectly into place of Gyokeres. The ball is like a bar of soap for Sanchez. It’s dreadful.’
Jamie Redknapp also criticised Sanchez at half-time, branding him ‘weak’ after his ‘poor’ error for Arsenal’s opener.
‘Arsenal have scored some good set-pieces goals, the coach certainly earns his money there, but this one is so easy,’ he said.
‘The goalkeeper starts in a decent position, the delivery is good but the goalkeeper just flaps at it, it’s so poor and weak. He needs to be stronger.’
A number of pundits have questioned whether Sanchez is good enough to be Chelsea’s number one since his £25m move from Brighton in 2023.
A recent upturn in form gave Sanchez hope of reviving his Chelsea career but Blues fans were not surprised by his error-strewn display against Arsenal.
‘I’ve had enough of this clown,’ one fan said on X. ‘Get him out of the Chelsea XI.’
One supporter said Chelsea would go ‘nowhere’ while Sanchez was in goal, while another wondered how he was still the No. 1 despite Chelsea’s incredible spending in recent years.
Chelsea will attempt to overturn their two-goal deficit and reach the Carabao Cup final when they visit Arsenal on February 3.
For now new Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior, who was taking charge of his second game following an opening FA Cup win over Charlton, will look to get back to winning ways against west London rivals Brentford.
Mikel Arteta’s attention, meanwhile, turns back to Arsenal’s Premier League title charge and a trip to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest.
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