Thomas Tuchel was enraged with his Chelsea team after they were thrashed 4-0 by Arsenal in their latest pre-season friendly.
First-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard placed the Gunners in total control at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium before Bukayo Saka tapped in during the second half and Albert Sambi Lokonga added salt to the wounds with an injury-time header.
After the defeat, Chelsea manager lashed out at his own players, implying that he is far from being “relaxed” ahead of the club’s Premier League opener against Everton on August 6.
Tuchel: Chelsea ‘Simply Not Good Enough’
The German manager told reporters after the game, “I am far from relaxed. We were simply not good enough. We were simply not competitive.”
He also admitted that Arsenal were the better team and had shown up to the match more prepared than his team.
“The worrying part is that the level of commitment physically and mentally for this match was far higher for Arsenal than for us,” Tuchel stated.
“They played I think what is their strongest line-up and structure that you see now for several weeks. This was the line-up they will try to start for Premier League games.
“It was surely not our strongest line-up. This is a part of an explanation but only a little part and the other part is worrying.
“I cannot guarantee we will be ready in two weeks.”
Defeat in Orlando.@WhaleFinApp | #BluesInTheUSA pic.twitter.com/jrhId69wAM
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) July 24, 2022
Thomas Tuchel Says The Blues Still Need ‘Urgent’ Signings
Chelsea’s only two summer signings, Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly, both played in the loss to Arsenal.
Tuchel believes the Blues desperately need more new faces to improve on their third-place finish in the Premier League in 2021-22.
“I look at the last season and parts of the game where we struggled, parts of the season where we struggled, and then we got sanctioned and players left us and some players are trying to leave us, and this is where it is,” he said.
“So we had an urgent appeal for quality players, a huge amount of quality players. We got two quality players but we are not competitive like this. Unfortunately you could see it today.”
Tuchel was, however, happy with Koulibaly’s 20-minute cameo.
He described him as “the best player.” “He was incredibly good I have to say.”
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