Mauricio Pochettino fires a warning at one of his Chelsea stars – insisting he ‘NEEDS to improve’ and ‘is not at his best’ – as he reveals why he took him off during their 2-2 draw with Arsenal

• Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino insists one of his players is ‘not at this best’
• The first-team star will ‘need to improve’ in order to stay in the Argentine’s plans
• Listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s podcast ‘It’s All Kicking Off!’ 

Mauricio Pochettino has fired a warning at one of his Chelsea stars, insisting the player ‘needs to improve’ in order to remain in the first team at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with title hopefuls Arsenal on Saturday, as second-half goals from Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard earned the Gunners a crucial point in west London.

A win would have put the struggling Blues within six points of the top four and seen them climb to ninth in the league, given West Ham were beaten at Aston Villa on Sunday.

But, despite scoring Chelsea’s second goal, Mykhailo Mudryk was taken off midway through the second half for Nicolas Jackson and Pochettino urged after the game that his impact in attack ‘needs to improve’.

Mudryk has struggled to light up Stamford Bridge since his £88million move to west London, and Pochettino is adamant the Ukrainian can produce more for his side.

Mauricio Pochettino has fired a warning at one of Chelsea’s stars, urging he ‘needs to improve’

The Blues squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with title hopefuls Arsenal on Saturday

Pochettino was referring to Mykhailo Mudryk, who’s struggled since his £88m Chelsea move

When asked if Mudryk was taken off because he was ‘running out of gas’, Pochettino gave a simple reply during his post-match press conference.

‘No,’ the Argentine said. ‘I think he played well but he also needs to improve. For me, he is still not at his best.

‘I think we needed to make a change to add a little bit more pressure with Jackson in front.

‘In that situation, we created a few chances and the game was closer to 3-0 than 2-1.’

He went on to admit that Chelsea’s draw felt more like two points dropped rather than a point gained.

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The Ukrainian winger scored Chelsea’s second goal but was still hooked off in the second half

Mudryk was replaced by Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson (left) before his side conceded twice

‘I think we lost two points,’ the Argentine told the BBC. ‘We are disappointed but you can not change the analysis and the judgement of the game.

‘We were very competitive against a very good team fighting for the Premier League last season.

‘We are a young team and I think the way we competed is a lot to be proud, but we’re disappointed because after 77 minutes when we conceded the first goal I think we were better.

‘The game was under control and we were playing well and dominating the game. But when you concede there is a risk. Yes, we’re disappointed but we have to take positive things.’

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify

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