‘I would have loved us to buy him.’

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Arsenal legend and ex-England striker Ian Wright (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal have little reason to envy Manchester United given the club’s current Premier League struggles but Ian Wright admits he ‘wishes’ one Old Trafford player was playing …

Haaland gave the penalty to his teammate.

Haaland gave the penalty to his teammate.

Ian Wright has accused Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca of making an ‘unacceptable’ decision at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues conclude the 2024-25 campaign with three crucial games as they look to qualify for the Champions League and win the Europa Conference League.

Chelsea, currently sitting fifth in the final Champions League spot, face Manchester United on Friday night before a Premier League finale against top-five rivals Nottingham Forest.

Maresca then takes his side to Poland on May 28 for Chelsea’s Europa Conference League final against Spanish side Real Betis.

Chelsea suffered a disappointing and potentially damaging defeat to Newcastle United last weekend and Wright said playing Moises Caicedo at right-back against the Magpies was ‘crazy’.

It was not the first time central midfielder Caicedo has slotted in at right-back, with the £100m signing asked to step into midfield when Chelsea are on the ball.

Using inverted, flexible full-backs is not uncommon in the Premier League but Wright has described Chelsea’s tactic as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘very worrying’.

England right-back Reece James was only named on Chelsea’s bench at St James’ Park before being introduced at half time.

‘It is crazy when you look at who Enzo Maresca has got on the bench and he’s still doing that [playing Caicedo at right-back],’ Wright said on The Kelly & Wrighty Show.

‘Teams are going to attack him all the time. Whatever he’s saying about getting into midfield and controlling it, you’ve got to get control of the game.

‘It all comes down to the manager. Unless something has happened with Reece James and Malo Gusto, I don’t know what’s happened.

‘That, for me, is unacceptable… He’s making decisions that are very worrying, especially in that particular incident.’

The finger of blame was pointed at Caicedo for Newcastle’s 2nd-minute opener against Chelsea.

‘He definitely switched off. Newcastle started so quickly, perfect start for them,’ former England striker Peter Crouch told TNT Sports.

‘Initially he does really well, Caicedo stays with Anthony Gordon and then they just get themselves in a right mess here.

‘Sandro Tonali’s pressing is unbelievable, his physicality, he’s always on the front foot. And then Caicedo just switches off.’

Ex-Chelsea winger Pat Nevin added on BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘Last week I was surprised that Caicedo didn’t get sent off with the challenges he was putting in.

‘So what do Newcastle do? First minute they put the ball in behind him to Anthony Gordon and that eventually led to the goal.

‘When he is back there he just seems rash and out of position. He is Chelsea’s player of the year this season but he is out of position and Anthony Gordon is already giving him a tough time.’

James struggled with injury problems earlier in the season but has featured heavily in the second-half of the campaign and was believed to be fit to start against Newcastle.

Discussing James’ intriguing situation at Stamford Bridge, ex-Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood said: ‘Reece James is Maresca’s club captain. Something has obviously happened.

‘I know he’s had his injury problems, but he’s ready now, he’s been training for months, he’s had opportunities to play.

‘I can’t understand some of the decisions Maresca has made regarding the Conference League. Resting players in the Premier League to play weakened opposition, with all due respect.

‘He’s been resting some players in the Premier League. If he doesn’t finish in the Champions League it’s a failure, a total failure.’

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‘We can’t afford to waste £90m.’

Arsenal legend and ex-England striker Ian Wright (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal have little reason to envy Manchester United given the club’s current Premier League struggles but Ian Wright admits he ‘wishes’ one Old Trafford player was playing …

Another trophyless season for the Gunners.

Arsenal’s poor defending is a huge concern.

‘What you have done for our game is unbelievable.’

Ian Wright admitted he was ‘very surprised’ by Arsenal’s tactics during their Champions League semi-final first leg defeat to PSG.

The Gunners stunned defending European champions Real Madrid in the last round and were hoping for more success against Paris Saint-Germain.

But Arsenal will need to overturn a one-goal deficit in Paris next week after suffering a 1-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

PSG dominated the early exchanges and Ousmane Dembele’s 4th-minute goal was enough to separate the sides.

Wright was ‘very surprised’ by Arsenal’s subdued start to the tie and says the Gunners ‘missed a trick’ by not taking the game to PSG.

‘I don’t want to be negative about the team but I’m very surprised by the start of the game,’ he said on the Wrighty’s House podcast.

‘I wasn’t expecting that start. To be honest I was expecting PSG to back off but it was the other way around, it was the opposite.

‘We should have been pressing them but it didn’t happen. That’s the disappointing thing, without being too negative.

‘I think we really missed a trick in the way we started, we didn’t take advantage of the crowd who were ready to scream and shout.

‘I think we got away with out really because we didn’t start like I thought we would, I was very surprised by that.

‘I would love to hear Mikel Arteta’s post-match interview because I want to hear what he says about the start.

‘I cannot fathom that you have a team like PSG come to your place and your tactics are to sit off them and let them play it out from the back and ease across the halfway line.’

PSG have arguably been the standout team in this year’s Champions League, having eliminated Liverpool and Aston Villa in the last two rounds.

The French champions are 90 minutes away from the Champions League final but Wright still has hope that his beloved Arsenal can pull off a comeback.

‘It’s only 1-0 but PSG did look impressive,’ Wright added. ‘But anyone would if you give them that much time and space in a semi-final at your place.

‘PSG are going to try and finish that game in the first 20 minutes and Arsenal have to be very much ready for that.

‘We’re in the semi-finals and this is it for our season, the league is gone. This is all we’ve got left. So I was expecting a performance because this is it now.

‘I have got confidence in us because we’ve shown it before, we’ve shown we’ve got the balls to do it. I just hope we can.’

Arsenal return to Premier League action against Bournemouth this weekend before preparing for their huge clash in the French capital.

PSG, already crowned Ligue 1 champions, visit Strasbourg on Saturday.

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The broadcaster has spoken out.

‘I do feel like you can get something out of him.’

‘I do feel like you can get something out of him.’

‘The problem you have playing against City.’

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The Arsenal defender has really stepped up in recent weeks.

The pair had to be pulled apart as tempers flared on night five.

‘Nobody can ever question him.’

‘He can do everything!’