Thomas Tuchel Praises Kalidou Koulibaly Despite Defeat To Arsenal

Thomas Tuchel believes that Kalidou Koulibaly was Chelsea’s best player in their heavy pre-season defeat against Arsenal on Sunday morning.

The Blues played the final game of their US tour against the Gunners, having already beaten Club America and lost on penalties to Charlotte FC prior to the fixture in Orlando.

Goals from Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga ensured Arsenal won 4-0 took the bragging rights back to London ahead of the new season, with Chelsea seemingly off the pace when compared to their rivals.

It was a tough defeat against Mikel Arteta's side, and highlighted where they need to improve before the start of the season.

However, a positive that Tuchel’s side can take from the match is the fact that Koulibaly made his first appearance in a royal blue shirt since his recent arrival from Napoli.

The 31-year-old did not feature in the defeat to Charlotte FC earlier in the week, but came off the bench against Arsenal to get some minutes in the tank in preparation for the new campaign.

Kalidou Koulibaly in action against Legia Warsaw. (Alamy)

His new manager was full of praise for him after the full-time whistle despite the defeat, with Tuchel claiming: "He was the best player on the pitch for us."

While the German boss may be pleased with one of his defensive options, he made it clear that he is concerned about the team’s efforts going forward, especially when they have only scored three goals in pre-season so far.

He said: “If you look at the first half, it was even hard to escape our half in a productive way and to play in the opponent’s half in a positive way and create chances – we had one chance with a shot (that hit the post).

"But the amount of dangerous situations, the amount of one against ones, the amount of accelerations in the second half, where we dominated the game and were the better team in the first 22 minutes, but with their first action they score and we didn't have too many dangerous situations (after that).

"Listen, it's the same players, so why should anything change? 

“We will see hopefully development but at the moment, we have the same issues because we have the same players."

Chelsea have just one game left of their pre-season schedule as they face Udinese at the end of the month, before kicking off their Premier League campaign against Everton early in August.

They have already made two signings this summer, with the arrivals of Raheem Sterling and Koulibaly bolstering their squad, but there is still expected to be more newcomers before the end of the window.

Since last year, the Blues have been heavily linked with a move for Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde and it appeared as though the 23-year-old was set to seal his switch to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Reports on Friday suggested that they had beaten Barcelona to his signature, but the news on Saturday morning revealed that the situation had turned, with the Catalan side coming to an agreement in principle with Sevilla.

However, Kounde’s current club are thought to be denying such speculation, and are waiting for Chelsea to send the necessary documents to complete the transfer.

It remains to be seen which club the Frenchman will join, although it could be made clear in the coming week.