Thomas Tuchel saw his Chelsea team crushed by Arsenal then admitted: I don’t know if we will be ready for the new season.
The Blues boss also admitted he is also battling dressing room frustrations with a string of players wanting out. Goals from Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga set alarm bells ringing with the Blues shambolic at the back and toothless up front.
Asked whether his team would be ready for their Premier League opener against Everton on August 6, Tuchel said: “I can not guarantee it. I saw today a team in Arsenal who are mentally committed to an idea of playing, a level of exhaustion, a level of physical commitment that we could not match.”
"Also, a level of mental commitment that we lacked because we have a lot of players who are thinking about leaving and looking at their options. We have players that have left and I think at the moment that's obvious."
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta and left-back Marcos Alonso both want to join Barcelona, winger Hakim Ziyech wants to go to AC Milan while Timo Werner and Christian Pulisic both want more regular game time.
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Tuchel had little time for an update on the club’s pursuit of £55million Sevilla defender Jules Kounde. He added: “There is no update, no update. At the moment I feel I was right when I look at the last season and at the parts of the game where we struggled and how we struggled.
"We got sanctioned and players left us, we know that some players are trying to leave us, and this is where it is.
“We had an urgent appeal for quality players and a huge amount of quality players. We've got two quality players – that is no doubt – but we are not competitive like this and unfortunately, we could see it today.”
