Andy Townsend slams Cole Palmer for what he attempted during Chelsea against Arsenal

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Cole Palmer might normally be the man everyone raves about at Chelsea but Andy Townsend had reason to criticise the forward against Arsenal.

Palmer was not his usual influential self against the Gunners and despite getting into some good positions early in the game, the England man struggled to have a big impact.

Of course, Palmer has had a superb season this year and just recently, Dimitar Berbatov even compared Palmer to Gareth Bale.

However, while Bale was known for his masterful free-kicks for Wales and Real Madrid, Palmer fluffed his lines from dead-ball situations on more than one occasion against Arsenal.

And with one particular wayward effort just before half-time, Palmer drew the wrath of former Chelsea man Townsend.

Cole Palmer criticised for ‘waste’ of a free-kick during Chelsea v Arsenal

Speaking on the incident for Premier League Productions, former Chelsea midfielder Townsend criticised Palmer and insisted it was a complete ‘waste’ of a good chance.

“That’s a waste. You know Palmer’s got those maverick skills and tendencies, outside the box, but there’s a time and a place for it.

“Coming up to the 40th minute, you win a free kick, put it in the box,” Townsend said.

Hard to blame Palmer for showing confidence

While Townsend’s comments here are valid enough and it perhaps showed some inexperience from Palmer, you cannot blame him for taking it on.

Yes, it was frustrating in terms of the execution and the outcome but on another day, he could probably pull it off.

Cole Palmer has earned the right to try the unexpected and on this occasion, it just didn’t come off.

More worrying for Chelsea really was his lack of overall impact on the game in general.

The Blues will be hoping the international break allows Palmer to recharge and kick into gear once more from the end of November.