Chelsea
will have to face Arsenal in Sunday's London derby - live on Sky Sports -
without Christian Pulisic after Thomas Tuchel revealed he had tested
positive for Covid.
The news comes as a blow to the American winger, who has struggled with
injuries during his time at Stamford Bridge but scored in Chelsea's opening
day win over Crystal Palace last week.
Tuchel was handed better news regarding Hakim Ziyech and N'Golo Kante,
though, with both players returning to training ahead of the trip to the
Emirates Stadium after missing the Palace game.
Discussing his squad to face Arsenal, Tuchel said: "Christian is
unfortunately pretty easy to explain. He had a positive test and needs to
follow the protocol, so he was not in training and is not available for the
game.
"Hakim and N'Golo were both in training today and had absolutely no
problems. We need to have another more physical training session tomorrow
with them but right now it seems very positive that both can be in the squad
for Sunday."
Tuchel is also set to have record signing Romelu Lukaku available for
Sunday's fixture, with the head coach saying: "We are hoping he is on the
pitch for Sunday and things look like it."
Chelsea will travel to Arsenal as favourites following the Gunners' 2-0
defeat at newly-promoted Brentford in their first Premier League game of the
season, and Tuchel is expecting Mikel Arteta's side to play up to their
"underdogs" tag.
Arsenal have also been hit by a Covid outbreak that has impacted several
players, including captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, and Tuchel said: "I
don't know what [their] team will be - it's a difficult one to predict.
"They can play maybe the underdog role here because of the complications
they have with the Covid situation, the difficulties they had in the first
match.
"I think they will try to put themselves into the underdog role and fight
from there, which is fair enough.
"It's on us to be absolutely focused and well aware of everything that they
will ask us. They can hurt anybody if you're not concentrated."
Chelsea already have one victory at the Emirates this season, having beaten
Arsenal 2-1 in a pre-season friendly earlier this month, and Tuchel admitted
that game whetted his appetite for Sunday's encounter, which is set to take
place in front of a full house.
"We had a pre-season match with not all the fans but we could see the
atmosphere and the energy that this derby and this stadium can produce," the
Chelsea boss said.
"I think it's always a tough one, a tight one. They had a bit of a rough
start and I think from their perspective it can be a help that a big rival
from within the city arrives now. It can create a situation where they stick
together and they try to win their crowd over with a strong performance.
"So we should be absolutely prepared for the best Arsenal possible. They
have qualities - strong coach, strong team, strong signings.
"At the same time, do what we need to do. Push the standards to the limit,
let's see where out limit is, look for an intense game, rhythm and a
confident game on and off the ball."
Tuchel also revealed that Trevoh Chalobah will remain as part of the Chelsea
first-team squad this season.
The 22-year-old has spent the last three seasons out on loan - including a
spell with French club Lorient in the last campaign - but impressed in
Chelsea's win over Palace, as well as their Super Cup victory over
Villarreal.
Tuchel said: "He did a fantastic pre-season and he's a very good player.
Even more important, he's a top character. He has both feet on the ground
and took his chance very impressively.
"He played very good matches in pre-season, he performed 120 minutes against
Villarreal and another strong 90 minutes against Crystal Palace.
"I think it's very logical that he stays with us and is looking for his
chance here. We let go some players and Trevoh is the guy that we absolutely
want to keep.
"We had a talk yesterday (Thursday) and I think the situation is that he
went out for loans, he had the minutes he needed to develop and now is a
good moment to stay with us and to be part of the group and to take further
steps to fulfil his dream, which is to be a part of a strong Chelsea squad.
"We trust him and he deserves this - this is not a gift."
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