Jase

While I do think his minutes will be lower than last season (he was second on the outfield player list), we don't know for sure what Tuchel has said to the others, do we? Given we have so many games this season and if we want to go far in every competition, rotation is gonna be key. There's really no need to be running players into the ground (e.g. Mount). Plus, Tuchel is known to rotate here and there to suit the opposition, match etc. Given how important Werner has been to Tuchel in the way we play, doubt he's just gonna toss him aside even if we've gotten Lukaku. He's versatile enough to play in different positions that Tuchel should be able to mix and match accordingly. Tuchel has also said he doesn't want to close the doors on the players that are already in the squad because he believes they can/will improve this season.

Kounde should be the club's next focus. If we don't sign a midfielder, I can see Tuchel playing Mount in midfield, which of course will also help free up space in attack.

The same article from The Athletic also claimed that Dortmund refused to enter negotiation over Haaland, especially after selling Sancho, and Haaland himself as well as Raiola didn't push for the move either. It supposedly took the club until mid-July to give up on chasing after Haaland.

According to The Athletic, Lukaku is now our highest wage earner. His salary will work from around £325k p/w to £450k p/w, once image rights and bonuses are taken into account.

And now - 1 x UEFA Super Cup. Just the other one in December to complete the collection...

At least we know what to expect from us, I guess but I don't know what to expect from Crystal Palace this time since Patrick Vieira is now in charge.

If Tuchel wins at least one more trophy, he'll become the 4th manager in the club's history to win at least 3 trophies, after Vialli (5), Mourinho (8) and Ancelotti (3). BUT if the Community Shield is excluded, then he would the 3rd.

Then how come he has to quarantine? Aren't those fully vaccinated not required to quarantine when heading into England?

The irony is that he could do so by forcing a move and taking a pay cut but I guess he's okay with being the second choice and hoping to collect trophies along the way, despite being the most expensive keeper in history (not that that is his fault).

The reason that made the club bought Werner in the first place was because the good work that he did was in a front 2/3 and alongside a #9 at Leipzig. He mentioned it just the other day when asked about Lukaku. And okay, Havertz isn't a #9 but the few times they played together upfront late last season was promising.

So I've heard. Guessing he's not vaccinated yet.

Yes but the squad underwent major changes over the last two summers (excluding this year). In 2019, it was all about using the academy players. In 2020, we bought new attacking players. Then of course, a pandemic happened and threw everything out of the window. Players suffered injuries or COVID in Havertz's case. Players suffered loss of form, confidence. Manager got sacked midway through the season and a new one was appointed. Add all of that up and we have a not-so-smooth circumstances with the team. With minimal changes to the squad this time around and having a proper coach as manager for a change, it's not silly to expect the players to improve, both as individual and collectively. If they don't, then we can talk about changes next summer. No, I don't see Werner getting 20+ goals per season for us but I do expect him to score at least 10-15 goals, considering he's a wide forward rather than an out-and-out striker. Do that and he would be a serviceable player for us, just like the likes of Pedro etc. I don't know why people are keen to label players as flops. How exactly is Werner a flop when he literally played a full part in our Champions League success last season (and I'm not just talking about the goals) for example? Not putting Werner in the same pedestal as Drogba but think Mourinho once said that one should judge a player's legacy when he leaves the club (or something along those lines). So how about we see what Werner does with his Chelsea career? Moreover, just as a player can fall away after starting well at a club, the same logic can be applied the other way round. Morata is probably one example and another is Pulisic. The latter did well in his debut season but hasn't been the same since, despite not suffering any serious injury since last November. Those players are limited but I would say they have been serviceable to the team at the very least. When I mentioned about players improving, I meant the younger ones as well as collectively.

How about both? No title and no Top 4. That would be a shit season for you, right?

Unless you have looked into the future, you don't what exactly is gonna happen. If we scrape into the Top 4 again with the inconsistency, low points tally etc, then sure I'd agree with you. But if we finish in the Top 4, with improved consistency, more points overall and maybe just fall short of the title on top of that, then I'd say that's an improvement at the very least. Are people really that used with us buying finished articles in the past and just winning things? Progression and improvement don't just happen overnight, even more so the circumstances mentioned earlier weren't exactly in our favor. You're already out here proclaiming the worst for us this season...after ONE game! So, is it too much to ask that maybe you just wait and see how things play out after the first few weeks/months of the season?

I meant why do you think he won't be ready.

Seriously, since you're so confident that we will have no hope this season, why don't you just agree to @Tomo's wager? Stick your neck on the line.

What do you mean exactly?

I said "all or almost all of your posts". As mentioned by @Tomo, if there's anything moving the goalposts here, it's you. One competitive game into the season and you're already predicting the end of the world for us with the Top 4 etc. Yes, the performance overall wasn't great yesterday and maybe we were lucky to win it but it's still just the first game of the season. The players' fitness level isn't at the same level because they all returned at different times, some barely even played much so far etc. Villarreal have had almost their full team since pre-season started and it's hardly a surprise they looked much better than us for long periods in the game. How a team start the season is not always an indicator of how the season will play out for the team and players and we should know this better than anyone else given the amount of times we've have started a season well in the past, only to fall away after the first few months. So how about we see how things play out over the next 2-3 months before claiming the worst for the season?

And yet, all or almost all of your posts are endless moaning/complaint, as per usual.

I don't see how a team would be able to just keep the ball from us without losing it. Not even Guardiola's side can do that. Also, unlike Solskjaer back in the Europa League final, Tuchel showed that he had the balls to change the keeper to the one better at saving penalties. Kudos to him for that. Although as debated on BT Sport last night, one does wonder whether Tuchel would do the same thing if it's the Champions League final.

It's Mana. Has to stick with the brand. Rarely says much when we win/do well but it's the end of the world and post after post when we don't.

Came out of hibernation just to laugh at that.

Arsenal vs Chelsea PRE/POST-MATCH DISCUSSION, LIVE CHAT AND ANALYSIS 2021/22 Premier League Matchday 2 22nd August, Sunday 2021 Emirates Stadium 16:30 Kick Off (UK time)