Arsenal were handed an unlikely lead in Wednesday night's clash with Chelsea following a calamity mistake from the host inside their own half. The Gunners assumed an advantageous position ahead of the half-time break, with Emile Smith Rowe opening the scoring thanks to Jorginho's error.
The encounter was of huge significance, with the two London clubs chasing respective spots in the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League. Having seen off Manchester City in the previous Premier League outing, Chelsea rotated their squad to accomodate a host of their fringe players ahead of the weekend's FA Cup final clash with Leicester City. However, the decision did not bode well for the hosts with Arsenal assuming a position of superiority due to a momentarily lapse in concentration on the part of one of the Blues' key men.
Not long after Kai Havertz had squandered a glorious 1-v-1 chance to put Thomas Tuchel's side ahead, Jorginho failed to lift his head before putting a pass the wrong way in an attempt to find Kepa Arrizabalaga. The Spanish goalkeeper managed to prevent the Italian's midfielder's misplaced attempt from crossing the goal-line but the rebound was pounced on by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who then set up Emile Smith Rowe for an simple. tap-in.
Watch:
Oh no Jorginho.
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) May 12, 2021
A blunder of errors from Chelsea, means Arsenal have the lead! pic.twitter.com/KmLounN93n
Here is how some fans on social media responded to Jorginho's error:
Jorginho's best quality is his leadership and how he drives the team
— Proper Chels (@proprchels) May 12, 2021
He seems to have lost that effect after giving up that goal
Just the reason why i can never like Jorginho #CHEARS
— Kizito (@iamkizitokizy) May 12, 2021
We clearly lost this game because of Jorginho. He better redeem himself in the UCL finals #CHEARS
— i hit a leak (@Tshiloboleroix) May 12, 2021
This is the second match we are loosing because for jorginho #CHEARS
— BlueSubZero (@BlueSubZero56) May 12, 2021
That moment of carelessness from Jorginho is going to cost us, isn't it? #CHEARS
— Franćk Tattaglia Odii (@georgyfrank) May 12, 2021
Oh come on. Mendy gets into that position lots of times. Cut Kepa some slack. That was Jorginho's error https://t.co/yiQbr65HbF
— Count Olaf (@PY__96) May 12, 2021