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Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher responded to a young fan's banner, which went viral and read 'fight for the shirt' in the Blues' 5-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday, April 23.
Chelsea were lackluster and went behind to an early Leandro Trossard goal (4') at the Emirates Stadium. Despite managing to regain some control of the game till the end of the first half, the visitors were blown away in the second.
Ben White scored in the 52nd minute, after which Kai Havertz netted from a brilliant Martin Odegaard pass (57'). Havertz added another eight minutes later, and White wrapped up his team's scoring for the night after a seemingly attempted cross found its way into the net (70').
Responding to the fan's banner, Gallagher said post-match (via Standard):
"We are definitely putting the effort in. I know how much it means to all the boys. It's a very young squad with not much experience as a team in the Premier League. As you've seen this season, we've had a lot of ups and downs."
"We're still improving and working together as a team to get to that next level. Today is one of those days when we were nowhere near it. We need to dust ourselves off, look at the performance and where we need to improve, and all the mistakes we made where we can put it right," he added.
On the night, Chelsea managed seven attempts, out of which one tested David Raya in the Arsenal goal. Meanwhile, the hosts took 27 shots, with 10 of those finding the target.
The Blues are now sitting ninth in the Premier League standings, 19 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who have played two games more.
Breaking down Chelsea captain Conor Gallagher's performance against Arsenal
Chelsea skipper Conor Gallagher has been among the better players for the Blues in what has been a largely forgettable season. However, he failed to influence proceedings against Arsenal from the middle of the park.
Although he managed a reasonably good 88 percent passing accuracy, the Englishman failed to complete either of his two attempted dribbles and lost possession 21 times. He won just four of his 12 ground duels and was dribbled past twice.
Gallagher has played 44 matches across competitions for Chelsea this season, bagging five goals and eight assists. Expect him to start for the Blues when they travel to Villa Park for a Premier League fixture on Saturday, April 27.
