Mauricio Pochettino has defended Jackson after the player was criticised after Chelsea‘s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City.
The Senegalese striker missed several chances to score against Manchester City, causing his side to lose the game with a deadly goal from Bernardo Silva in the final minutes of the match.
The 22-year-old has scored 13 goals in 37 appearances for the Blues in all competitions since arriving at Stamford Bridge from Villarreal last summer.
Pochettino defended Jackson after the racist abuse he was subjected to after the last game.
“All public people suffer, more in football, because people hide behind social media,” Pochettino said at his pre-match press conference ahead of facing Arsenal.
“We need to be on social media because it is a good way to communicate with the good fans.
“The most important thing is to be strong and not think that it is a reference about you.”
The Argentinian manager has labelled Nicolas Jackson as a great performer in his first season with the Blues.
“First season is always difficult for all the players, especially when you are a striker and need to perform and score goals.
“Everyone expects you to score a goal with every touch. He is our main striker, the only striker that we have fit because [Christopher] Nkunku nearly didn’t play the whole season, [Armando] Broja also then moved to Fulham because he wanted to play more.
“[Jackson] is doing fantastic, he’s doing an amazing job for the team, running, scoring goals and giving assists. He’s a young guy coming from Spain and he’s done fantastic.
“If we compare with [Didier] Drogba, yes, he is always going to lose. We need to split the history of the club with the performance of Jackson.
“He has all my support because even if he doesn’t always score, the way he is fighting for the club and his team-mates… he is going to be better next season, no doubt. He just needs to keep going.”
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