Tuchel warns of new Chelsea formation with Lukaku which could haunt Arsenal
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel says that he could unleash a new formation involving striker Romelu Lukaku against Arsenal next weekend.
The Blues have re-signed the Belgium international for £97.5million following his exploits at Inter. He scored 64 goals in 95 games for the Italian club, therefore convincing Chelsea to pay. Indeed, Tuchel’s side needed a new goal-getter having scored more than two goals in a game only twice since he took over.
One of those occasions came last weekend, in the 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Intriguingly, they also beat Palace 4-1 last season, but those occasions have proved few and far between – a trend Tuchel hopes Lukaku can end.
The 28-year-old comes out of isolation on Monday following his trip from Italy and will likely face Arsenal on Sunday.
“We will prepare him to be ready for Arsenal and hopefully he can be on the pitch,” Tuchel told Chelsea’s official website.
“We get the number one striker in and we want to have him on the pitch, this is very clear.”
Chelsea looked strong without Lukaku against Palace. Marcos Alonso, Christian Pulisic and Trevoh Chalobah got the goals.
However, Tuchel added that he could use Lukaku in a new formation against Arsenal.
“We have now with Romelu, the chance to play also with two strikers like they did in Inter with him, or to continue with three strikers,” the manager said.
“We will see now how this works out and who fights for the places around him.
“I think he will lift the pressure of the young guys’ shoulders.”
Tuchel talks Kante, Chelsea injury
Tuchel confirmed that midfielder N’Golo Kante could also feature against Arsenal after a recent injury scare.
The Frenchman played 64 minutes of Chelsea’s Super Cup win over Villarreal, but missed the win over Palace.
“But he felt it again and we had to decide to take the responsibility and to take him out and not do any risk now in the beginning of the season,” the manager said.
“I think N’Golo will be back in the middle of the week to be ready for Arsenal.”
While Chelsea got their season off to a strong start, Arsenal did the opposite with a 2-0 loss to Brentford.
The pressure has ramped up on boss Mikel Arteta, with champions Manchester City their opponents after Chelsea.
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