‘Spoke to the manager’: Cole Palmer shares what Mauricio Pochettino told him the day before Arsenal draw

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Chelsea attacker Cole Palmer only found out that he would be playing as a false 9 against Arsenal the day before the game.

Cole Palmer led the line for his side in their 2-2 draw with Mikel Arteta’s men on Saturday, and he has now told Chelsea’s official club website that Mauricio Pochettino did not actually give him that much notice about playing up front.

Palmer had a good game, with Gary Neville admitting that he loved how the 21-year-old and Conor Gallagher were utilised in the match.

The attacking midfielder gave Chelsea the lead with a first-half penalty before Mykhailo Mudryk put the Blues 2-0 up with the strangest of goals. Arsenal managed to fight back, though, thanks to Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard, who both scored late in the game to ensure the points would be shared.

Cole Palmer’s conversation with Mauricio Pochettino on eve of Arsenal clash

Palmer says Pochettino only told him a day before the Arsenal match that he would be starting up front.

Speaking to Chelsea’s official website, the England U21 international said: “I found out the day before I was going to be playing as a false nine, sort of in the right pocket.

“I spoke to the manager, he told me what he wanted from me, and I believed I could do it because I’ve played there before. So I just tried to get in the pockets, turn and play well.”

Cole Palmer playing false 9 a short-term fix

Palmer can be pleased with his contribution in the draw with Arsenal, but going forward, Chelsea need a prolific and natural centre-forward leading the line.

Nicolas Jackson recently underwent surgery on his wrist, while Armando Broja was not fit enough to feature in the London derby, so Pochettino had to be a bit flexible.

When both strikers are fully fit, you would expect one of the two to get the nod to lead the line for Chelsea.

Palmer is not a No.9 and has not been playing senior football for too long so does not have a track record of scoring goals.

Jackson, Broja or a new signing, if the two struggle to deliver goals for Pochettino’s side, will surely be the leading man in attack in the long run.