Romelu Lukaku will be unleashed for his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal on Sunday, confirms Thomas Tuchel… as Blues boss predicts Gunners will ‘play the underdog role’ in London derby
- Romelu Lukaku is set to make second Chelsea debut against Arsenal on Sunday
- Thomas Tuchel says he hopes record-signing will be the missing piece in puzzle
- Tuchel expects Arsenal to ‘play the underdog role’ in upcoming London derby
- The Gunners kicked-off their campaign last week with a 2-0 defeat to Brentford
Thomas Tuchel has paved the way for Romelu Lukaku to make his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal on Sunday and backed the £97.5million signing to be the final piece in his jigsaw.
Lukaku has returned to Stamford Bridge after seven years following spells with Everton, Manchester United and Inter Milan, the club he left to return to the English game.
‘We are hoping he is on the pitch on Sunday,’ said Tuchel. ‘We hope he is [the missing piece in the puzzle] but at the same time we try to find solutions for any questions we are asked during the games.
Thomas Tuchel is hopeful that Romelu Lukaku will be the missing piece in the Puzzle
Lukaku is set to make his second Chelsea debut this Sunday a decade after his first one
‘We still want to be a strong squad. Romelu is the kind of personality and profile we were missing up front and from now it’s our job to push ourselves to the limit.
‘Romelu is unique. He can play with his back to goal but also he is at his strongest in transition, with his immense speed. Add to that the fact he is a true goalscorer so he is unique – a new experience for me.
‘Of course we expect goals and he expects that too. He has delivered goals wherever he has been and we will see how far his impact goes.’
Tuchel also expects Arsenal to behave as underdogs to try to gain an edge in the London derby fixture at Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal kicked off their season with a 2-0 defeat to newly promoted Brentford
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette tested positive for COVID-19 last week
The Gunners endured a desperate opening weekend to the Premier League season, first suffering a coronavirus outbreak within the squad and then losing 2-0 at newly-promoted Brentford, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressing surprise on Friday that the game had not been postponed.
Tuchel said: ‘When I put myself in their shoes, they can play the underdog role. They’ve had complications with Covid-19 and difficulties in their first match.
‘So they will try to put themselves in the role of underdog which is fair enough. It’s up to us to be focused and we are well aware of everything they will ask of us.’
