Glenn Murray believes Nicolas Jackson’s confidence is at “rock bottom” following Chelsea’s heavy defeat against Arsenal on Tuesday night.
The Blues have now failed to score in their last two games following the 6-0 win against Everton, and were embarrassed against the Gunners.
Outside of Cole Palmer Chelsea’s attackers haven’t been prolific in front of goal with Mykhailo Mudryk and Raheem Sterling only having four and six goals to their names respectively.
Jackson hasn’t done badly and is the Blue’s second top scorer with 13 in all competitions, 10 of which have come in the league.
The 22-year-old had a couple of opportunities to score on Tuesday night, but like at Wembley he wasn’t able to find the back of the net.
Former striker and now pundit Murray believes the Senegal international is suffering with a loss of confidence following his missed chances.
“I think after the criticism at the weekend and missing those opportunities, I think his confidence is literally rock bottom”, Murray told BBC 5 Live Sport.
“In all fairness he has played quite well tonight, he has stretched the play, held the ball up well, but in front of goal he just seems to lack in confidence.”
It’s been a largely positive first season in England for Jackson but it’s clear he’s played much more than was anticipated given the injuries to Christopher Nkunku and Armando Broja.
Not signing a proven striker in the summer has placed a lot of responsibility on Jackson’s shoulders to deliver for Chelsea in a way that would be expected from far more established players.
The lack of an alternative at the moment also means he is playing every game, even when he’s clearly struggling and could do with being taken out the side
Signing a new striker in the summer will help Jackson massively and will take away the burden to score goals and give him someone to learn from which will be vital for his development.
