Ahead of what may be his Champions League debut for the club, Thomas Tuchel claims Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is eager to play for Chelsea and make a statement.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang coming off the plane & in the squad for our @ChampionsLeague game tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/xrXpSgOnxg
— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) September 5, 2022
Aubameyang was acquired by Chelsea on deadline day from Barcelona, seven months after he was ousted from Arsenal due to conflicts off the field with head coach Mikel Arteta.
Prior to completing his transfer to Stamford Bridge, Aubameyang was injured during a break-in. Although, he has traveled with the Chelsea team to Croatia and exercised while using a protective face mask ahead of Tuesday’s Group E opening against Dinamo Zagreb.
Aubameyang might start or come off the bench for Chelsea against Dinamo, according to Tuchel, who is looking forward to seeing the 33-year-old establish himself as the attack’s focal point.
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What Did Tuchel Say About Aubameyang?
In his pre-game press conference, Tuchel stated, “We had the opportunity to take everybody who was available to Zagreb to do our last training here, that includes Denis [Zakaria] and Aubameyang.
“Aubameyang had a test with his mask, felt fine, trained normal, so if everything goes well today, they will both be available.”
On Aubameyang, Tuchel continued: “He’s the sort of player [to thrive in adversity], he’s very ambitious, very focused, and he’s hungry to play for us and prove a point still.
“That’s why he’s here, that’s what we felt from the first moment and he’s happily invited to prove a point tomorrow.”
When asked if Aubameyang had any problems when practicing while wearing a face mask, Tuchel responded: “If an issue will come up we will not play put him, of course, but there was no issue for him yesterday and I hope there will not be an issue today.
“Is he ready to start? Of course. But he cannot play 90 minutes, it’s about us taking a decision on how we manage the minutes.
“It’s clear he needs minutes to get his rhythm and fitness, so it is on us to find the solution if he comes from the bench or starts.”
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