Tuchel shares why Arsenal were so ‘tough’ to play against

Thomas Tuchel admits Chelsea struggled to deal with the “quality and speed” of Arsenal during their 2-1 friendly victory at the weekend, speaking to the Blues’ website. 

It certainly felt odd to see a pair London rivals go head to head at a bouncing Emirates stadium in a game that offered little more than bragging rights and some valuable pre-season preparation. 

But Chelsea can still take plenty of confidence from the way they overcame a Gunners side featuring Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Thomas Partey and new £50 million signing Ben White backed by a vociferous fanbase returning home after months away.

Kai Havertz gave the reigning European champions a first-half lead following a terrific Timo Werner pass and, after Granit Xhaka levelled with a rare header, it was Tammy Abraham – the striker linked with a £40 million move to Arsenal – who won the game with a composed finish from the edge of the box. 

And Tuchel was thrilled by the way he stood up to the challenge against an Arsenal side that took six points off the Blues last season. 

What positives can Arsenal and Chelsea take from their friendly?

“We suffered in some minutes against the quality and speed of Arsenal but they have already played four games this pre-season so that was normal,” Tuchel said at full-time. 

“It was a pretty tough one against Arsenal and normally you want a slightly easier opponent but in two weeks the season starts and before then we play Villarreal in the Super Cup so somehow we need to manage it. 

“I was very happy with the performance in the first half and we won it deservedly because we could have scored a second or third goal.” 

While White looked assured and confident on his Arsenal debut, the same can’t be said of Hector Bellerin, the exit-linked right-back whose misplaced pass gifted Abraham the winner.  

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