The manager of Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel has insisted that Arsenal’s talisman, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang remains his player even though he now plays for a rival club.
Thomas Tuchel and Aubameyang have come a long way. They both met at Borussia Dortmund when Tuchel was the coach of the German Bundesliga club and the Gabonese striker was a player under him.
Under the tutelage of the German coach, the Gabon international scored 79 goals in 95 appearances in all competitions before they parted ways. Aubameyang left the German club in 2018 for Arsenal while Tuchel left to coach Paris Saint Germain.
After their first successful season at PSG, Tuchel reportedly wanted to reunite with Aubameyang ahead of the 2019-2020 season after he scored 31 goals and provided 8 assists in 51 games for Arsenal the previous season.
PSG already have Kylian Mbappe playing the center-forward role which Aubameyang is known for. Hence, the French Ligue 1 champions refused to grant Tuchel his wish then.
According to reports, the disagreement between Tuchel and PSG’s sporting director Leonardo over the signing of players forced the club to sack him in December 2020.
Fortunately for the German tactician, he became the coach of Chelsea in January 2021 and led the club to the final of the FA Cup and the final of the UEFA Champions League.
Later today, May 12, at 20:15, Aubameyang will face Tuchel’s boys when Arsenal visit Stamford Bridge to play against Chelsea in the club’s 36th match of the season.
Next: Arsenal at the Bridge! #CHEARS pic.twitter.com/gjkU3ePusi
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 10, 2021
Ahead of the game, Thomas Tuchel was asked about the status of his relationship with the Gabonese who has scored 10 goals and provided 2 assists for Arsenal this season. The German coach described the striker as a fantastic player.
He said: “Back in the days at Dortmund, it was a pure pleasure to have him in the squad.
“Auba was a fantastic striker, a fantastic finisher on the pitch. But, more than that, he was a fantastic worker off the pitch.
“I think he did not miss one single training in two years. Maybe he arrived five minutes late on the training ground, that can happen with him! But if he does this, he is in a hurry, he feels sorry, he still has a smile on his face.
“We still are in touch and exchange messages when one of us has a big win. In some ways, he will still always be my player, so I want him to succeed and have a good time wherever he is.
“This contact never fully stopped and it’s nice to see him because he’s always on for a hug and it’s nice to see him laugh. But, of course, we want to stop him and there is no exchange now before the game.”
Arsenal need to beat Chelsea later today to finish strong on the league table. While Chelsea must win Arsenal to ensure that they keep their hope alive of finishing in the top four. The Gunners won the first leg of the league’s game and Chelsea would not want a home and away defeat from Arsenal this season.
