Arsenal legend, Martin Keown has singled out Rudiger for praise, as he admitted he has been massive for the club this season
By Kehinde Okeowo
Antonio Rudiger was not a regular starter when Frank Lampard was in charge, but since the appointment of Thomas Tuchel in January, the German center-half has been given a regular run in the first team.
Since then, he and Thiago Silva have formed a partnership that gave Chelsea one of the best defenses in the Premier League this season; he has also scored two goals in 15 Premier League games.
His exploit has not gone unnoticed by former Arsenal defender and legend, Martin Keown who praised Rudiger after the defender won two penalties in Chelseas’ 3-2 win over Leeds over the weekend.
The second-half stoppage time foul against the defender led to the second penalty which Jorginho converted to give Chelsea the win and kept them in the hunt for the title in the company of Manchester City and Liverpool FC.
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Martin Keown, while speaking on the game against Leeds on Metro’s ‘Match of the Day show’, described Rudiger as the driving force behind The Blues this season.
He also added that the German defender is aggressive, strong and he is the leader of the team at the back.
Keown said: “He’s a real driving force for Chelsea – I love watching him play.
“I was an aggressive defender myself, but I think this guy takes it to another level.
“When he gets the ball, he likes to run forward. The fans love him there because he makes things happen.
“Defensively – he’s so aggressive. He just shuts the door. So aggressive, strong, and he really leads from the back.
“He’s a nuisance to play against and he’s been outstanding for them.”
Rudiger’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season and it remains to be seen whether he will pen a new deal with the south west London side, as he has been linked with Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, the defender spoke about the need for Chelsea to tighten up at the back after their slim win over Leeds.
He attributed the goals they conceded to silly mistakes from the players and not the fact that the opposition outplayed them, he also urged the team to improvement
“In terms of mentality, we matched their [Leeds’] game, in terms of quality, no because the goals we conceded were too easy.
“These days we concede a lot of goals which are too easy and we have to address this. If you want to compete for trophies you should not do that type of mistake. We know we need to improve things as quickly as possible.
“We do silly mistakes, we punish ourselves and give away goals. It’s not that the opponents are killing us or outplaying us.
“Obviously we are missing players, this is clear, but I don’t look for excuses. We have a good squad and this is the chance for people now and everyone has to take their chance.” Rudiger said.