Antonio Rudiger is a bit of a character, isn’t he?
That in itself is a massive understatement and simply doesn’t do justice to the often silly genius of the German centre-back.
The fan favourite started for the Blues against Newcastle United and produced a typically formidable performance in defence.
While the Magpies didn’t exactly venture forward on many occasions, whenever they did produce a threat, the German was mostly present to quell it.
His performance on the night was trademark Rudiger, bullish tackles, darting runs forward, attempts at 60-yard screamers, and even an outrageous pass from outside the boot.
However, it was this moment that managed to garner attention from fans online.
Why’s man doing this? Rudiger. 😂pic.twitter.com/NmjJxJBrzr
— AfcVIP⁴⁹ (@VipArsenal) March 13, 2022
As seen in the clip doing the rounds online, Rudiger trails back to safely direct an overhit pass to his goalkeeper. On his tail is a Newcastle player, looking to put pressure on the German.
The centre back shows excellent awareness and opens his body up, perhaps feigning run forward, but ultimately opts to go for safety.
Before passing back to his keeper, however, Rudiger essentially dances for a second and flails his legs around like a grasshopper.
The former Roma man is known for being adept at trolling, and by the looks of it, his random movements really couldn’t have served any other purpose.
What is for sure is that the crowd at the Bridge certainly enjoyed it, as cheers were heard soon after his antics, and so did users online.
Fans often talk about players expressing themselves through skills and tricks, well here’s Antonio Rudiger expressing himself in the most unique way possible.