Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has spoken of his teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s surprise after Thomas Tuchel was fired and replaced by Graham Potter.
When signing for the Blues, Aubameyang underlined Tuchel’s importance, implying he was delighted to work with the boss again after excelling under him at Borussia Dortmund some years ago. However, the German manager was fired a week later when Chelsea lost against Dinamo Zagreb on the former Barcelona striker’s debut.
While he has opened up about his relationship with Tuchel once more, the Gabonese striker appears to be positive about the incoming management. Still, according to Kepa, it appears he required some time to acclimatize to the news.
“The fact is that he arrived a little apprehensive the first few days.” He was a little taken aback by the amount of change “According to The Sun, the goalie remarked of Aubameyang. “Everything that had happened to him in the last two or three days had been a misfortune.”
Aside from the hurried shift from Barcelona to London and the change in coaching, Aubameyang was the victim of an armed robbery at his house in Spain. The striker was injured in the incident and has worn a mask in his first two Chelsea games.
Kepa was speaking following a 1-1 draw at home against Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League, which dropped the Blues to the bottom of their group after two games. Aubameyang played for over an hour before being replaced by Armando Broja, but it was fellow forward Raheem Sterling who scored the hosts’ goal.
“Everyone is aware of my friendship with Thomas,” Aubameyang said. “It’s always heartbreaking when someone leaves the club.” I obviously only saw him for a few days. When you play football, you have to react rapidly to certain situations that may arise during the season.”
He stated that he had not spoken to Tuchel since his dismissal but intended to do so “as soon as feasible.” The 33-year-old also expressed confidence in the new manager, who took over at previous club Brighton and moved the Seagulls ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League table.
“I think he’s a pretty optimistic person with a terrific character,” Aubameyang stated, according to The Evening Standard. “We’ll try to learn alongside him. We want to be victorious as quickly as possible.
“I believe his notion is really obvious, so I believe it will be simple. I believe it will take some time for them to adjust to each other, but everything will be OK.”