Following a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal in the pre-season Florida Cup tournament, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel launched a scorching attack on his own side. The German said that his team is not competitive in this current state and that Arsenal are far ahead of the Blues in their current form, despite Mikel Arteta’s side not being in the Champions League this coming season.
The worst part of all this for Chelsea fans is that Tuchel is absolutely correct. The 48-year-old was rightly upset following an embarrassing defeat but his post-match comments were not incorrect or merely reactionary. His comments were an honest and brutal assessment of the squad available to him.
Thomas Tuchel Was Correct in His Post-Match Assessment
“I saw today a team in Arsenal who are mentally committed to an idea of playing. We were absolutely not competitive'
Furious Thomas Tuchel launches astonishing assessment of Chelsea's problems post Arsenal thrashing | @Matt_Law_DT #CFC https://t.co/KVucMVsynz
— Telegraph Football (@TeleFootball) July 24, 2022
Leftovers
One of the big issues with the current makeup of the Chelsea team is the expensive leftovers of previous regimes that can’t be moved on. Players like Timo Werner and Kepa Arizzabalaga aren’t going anywhere anytime soon because of the big wages they’re on and neither are going to contribute anything meaningful to the first team this coming season.
Read More: New Chelsea Ownership Looking to Offload Expensive Contracts
In addition to that, the boss mentioned players who want to leave the club, having to play such players is not an ideal situation for any manager to be in.
Signings Still Needed
Tuchel made a very strong point during his post-match rant, saying “we got two quality players but we are not competitive like this.” Despite landing the signings of Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly, this is still a team in need of reinforcements. With the Blues currently locked into a tedious negotiation for Jules Kounde, the frustration from the manager and fans will only grow.
Read More: Chelsea Transfer Budget Revealed With Thomas Tuchel Promised Up To Six Summer Signings
This is a club that needs players, especially in defence where Trevoh Chalobah and Malang Sarr are currently the only depth options in the centre of defence. Whether they get them or not remains to be seen as Barcelona continue to be a thorn in their side in the chase for Sevilla’s Kounde.
With Presenel Kimpembe already off the market and Josko Gvardiol lined up as an Option-C, the club is already struggling to fill out its defence. How, then, can they be expected to sort out their offensive woes with the lack of a proven striker up front a worrying sight for fans?
✅ Robert Lewandowski
✅ Raphinha
✅ Ousmane Dembele (renewal)
✅ Andreas Christensen
✅ Franck Kessie
⏳ Jules Kounde
👀 Marcos Alonso
👀 Cesar Azpilicueta😬 Barcelona probably aren’t Thomas Tuchel’s favourite team this summer pic.twitter.com/cmiNpdKGKm
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 25, 2022
Last season, one of the biggest issues for Chelsea was an inability to make the most of their chances. So far in this pre-season that appears to still be a major problem, with no solution in sight.
Romelu Lukaku is gone and so far nobody has been brought in to try and replace him, Timo Werner certainly won’t be stepping up to the plate. Armando Broja might be an option, but he’s also a 20-year-old with one season of Premier League experience.
One thing is for sure: Thomas Tuchel was spot on with his comments following his side’s defeat to Arsenal. Chelsea are not competitive with their current squad, and they’re going to have to move fast to fix it.
