Jamie Carragher blasts Sunderland’s Lamine Kone’s attitude after he ‘walks’ around during Arsenal hammering
Former England and Liverpool defender hits out at Black Cats centre-back's performance
JAMIE CARRAGHER has slated Lamine Kone's display against Arsenal and branded his attitude "a major problem".
The Ivory Coast centre-back was a revelation last season after ex-Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce signed him at the end of the January transfer window.
Former Lorient defender kone, 27, played a major role as the Black Cats avoided the drop.
But he has struggled this term and he suffered a nightmare as the Premier League basement side crashed 4-1 at home to Arsenal on Saturday.
And former England and Liverpool defender Carragher ripped into him on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football by saying: "There's one player on the pitch whose attitude has been nowhere near acceptable and that's Kone at the back.
"He was a man mountain last season, him and Jermain Defoe virtually kept them up.
"Defoe at one end and Kone at the other but he's nowhere near where he needs to be.
"He's causing Sunderland a massive problem."
David Moyes' Sunderland have failed to win in the Premier League this season and are already eight points adrift of safety.
Carragher added: "The players around him are nowhere near good enough. He is good enough and he showed it last season but his attitude now is becoming a major problem for Moyes.
"As much as he was the solution last season in terms of keeping them up, he's now a massive problem.
"Looking at the stats, in every area he's down and let's not forget Sunderland are worse than last season.
"You'd imagine he would be doing more defending. He should be making more clearances and more tackles because he's not involved going forward as he was last season."
Kone was singled out for Alex Sanchez's opener on Saturday when he allowed the Chilean to get ahead of him to thump home a header.
Carragher added: "He didn't want to run. He just walks about. They are playing Arsenal at home, who want to knock the ball about and he's walking.
"It's just a little thing but the fact he doesn't even run back to get back into position.
"Why is he not part of that back four? Why is he not busting a gut to get back into his back four?
"You get back in, you open your body up, assess what's going on and see the runner, who was Sanchez.
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"Again, he wasn't interested in doing his job properly. The ball was about to come in and he's strolling about.
"That wasn't the Kone we saw last season, dominating balls into the box. He gets beat by Alexis Sanchez, who ran almost from the halfway line to get on the end of it.
"The contrast in desire from both players was startling."
Kone was a target for Everton in the summer but the defender signed a new five-year deal to stay on Wearside in September.
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Carragher said: "Sunderland were thinking they'd done well keeping him in the transfer window.
"They've now got a major problem with him and I hope other managers are out there looking at him, thinking he might be a problem.
"To perform like that and the position he's put David Moyes in and the Sunderland supporters, it's not acceptable."