Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel jokingly responds when asked why he started Romelu Lukaku against Arsenal
While talking to Sky Sports in the post-match press interview (h/t The Mirror), Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel joked that due to the media’s continuous speculations, he put Romelu Lukaku in the starting XI against Arsenal.
Since making controversial claims about his Chelsea future, Lukaku has become a hot target for the English press. After the incident, the Chelsea manager frequently faced questions regarding the Belgian star’s treatment.
The ex-Evertonian’s spell in this campaign has been far from spectacular. Scoring five goals and providing one assist in 21 matches in the Premier League doesn’t justify the club-record £97.5m transfer fee that Chelsea paid for him to Inter Milan last summer.
Lukaku wasn’t in the squad for Chelsea’s 2nd-leg Champions League loss against Real Madrid and their second last Premier League match against Southampton.
Hence, it was a surprise for many when Thomas Tuchel decided to start the Belgian in a crunch clash against Arsenal. However, one must remember that he had a good game against the Gunners the last time they played them before this, scoring in a 2-0 win at the Emirates back in August 2021.
What next for Lukaku at Chelsea?
Perhaps Tuchel had that in mind. When asked about the same issue in the post-match press conference, the German manager jokingly gave a bizarre response before making it more straightforward. The ex-PSG manager explained how Kai Havertz has been overloaded recently, which paved the way for the Belgian to start.
“You were asking so much about him, so finally I put him. We want to play with two strikers, and Kai is heavily overloaded, so was the moment to go with Romelu.”
Going back to the point about him netting against the Gunners last year, Lukaku has not enjoyed playing a lot against them during his stay in England, netting just 4 in 19 games vs our bitter rival from North London. But having netted on his return to Stamford Bridge, Tuchel explained that it was one of the reasons behind Lukaku getting the nod.
“A little bit. If you have a good experience or a good moment against an opponent, it can help. It was not the main reason – the main reason was that he deserves to play.”
If you consider Lukaku’s unsuccessful spells in recent matches, you can’t blame the media for raising the Belgian’s name repeatedly in front of our manager. After all, not all the strikers in the Premier League come with such a price tag and reputation.
Lukaku was pretty good in the FIFA Club World Cup, scoring in the semi-final and final. It wouldn’t do any good to our team if he can’t maintain that form. He is our central striker, and if he cannot fulfil the purpose of putting the ball in the back of the net on a regular basis, then the manager has no choice but to omit him.
Even yesterday, he was far from impressive. Just a couple of minutes after Eddie Nketiah’s goal to put Arsenal 3-2 in front, Tuchel brought on Havertz for the Belgian striker- who came off the pitch without making any tangible contributions to the scoreline for the 8th league game in a row.
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Lukaku’s off-form spell has put pressure on other players like Kai Havertz and Mason Mount, who have been trying very hard to produce up front for the team. Lukaku has had good spells at West Bromwich Albion, Everton, and to some extent, even Manchester United. So there is still hope that he can turn things around in the coming weeks or the next season.