Chelsea suspend key midfielder for Manchester City clash
Chelsea suspend key midfielder for Manchester City clash Chelsea have banned Enzo Fernandez for two matches, ruling him out of next weekend’s Premier League game against Manchester City. Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images With Arsenal hoping every side that faces Manchester City puts in as much effort as they do when facing Arsenal, Chelsea have suspended Enzo Fernandez for two games, meaning he will miss the match against Pep Guardiola’s side. The midfielder has been banned for two matches by his own club after, in Liam Rosenior’s words, “crossing the line” with comments made about his future.
That means he will miss Chelsea’s FA Cup quarter-final against Port Vale and, more significantly from Arsenal’s perspective, the league meeting with City at Stamford Bridge . The punishment follows public remarks that Chelsea have clearly decided could not pass without a response. After the 3-0 home defeat by Paris St-Germain that ended their Champions League hopes last month, Fernandez told ESPN Argentina there was no guarantee he would still be at the club next season.
Then, during the international break, he appeared to invite interest from Real Madrid when he said: “I really like Madrid – it’s similar to Buenos Aires. ” Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images Rosenior’s view was that the issue was less about one isolated comment than about standards inside the club. “I think for Enzo, it’s disappointing to speak in that way,” he said.
“In terms of him as a character, as a person, I’ve got no bad words to say about him. But I think a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build. So we had to make a sanction.
” He added: “Enzo, firstly, as a character, a person and a player, I have the utmost respect for what he has achieved and what he is as a player. He’s frustrated because he wants us to be successful. “In terms of the decision, it’s not all about me, or the sporting directors, the ownership, the players, we are aligned in every decision that we make.
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