Jamie Carragher admits he ‘admires’ Thomas Tuchel’s furious reaction after Arsenal loss

Daniel Brown

‘You’re still playing for Chelsea, you’re playing Arsenal, and it’s a big game’

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher has backed Thomas Tuchel’s angry reaction to Chelsea’s 4-0 pre-season defeat to Arsenal last week.

The Blues were dominated by their London rivals, which led to Tuchel questioning the physical and mental state of some of his players prior to the start of the Premier League season.

Carragher has since backed the German coach’s frustration following the loss, suggesting that the Blues shouldn’t be losing 4-0, despite the game being a friendly.

Speaking to TalkSport, he said: “I think it’s easy to downplay them [friendlies] when they don’t go well, we all know that.

“I’ve been a player and we can say results mean nothing because it will be decided on the first game of the season. If you win, it doesn’t matter.

“But as a player or a manager there is nothing better than winning and playing well and building some sort of confidence.

“You can see the reaction of Thomas Tuchel after the Arsenal game. I quite admire the reaction. You’re still playing for Chelsea, you’re playing Arsenal, and it’s a big game.

“I know it’s a pre-season friendly but you shouldn’t be getting beaten 4-0, and I actually quite admired how seriously he was taking it.

“I don’t think they should massively be getting carried away, but I don’t think they should be getting massively beaten by Arsenal two weeks before the start of the season.”

Jamie Carragher: "I quite admire Thomas Tuchel's reaction. You're playing for #Chelsea, you’re playing Arsenal, it’s a big game. I know it’s a pre-season friendly, but you shouldn’t be getting beaten 4-0. I actually quite admired how seriously he was taking it."

(@talkSPORT)

— Chels HQ (@Chels_HQ) July 25, 2022

A number of players have been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge, with Tuchel calling for the new owners to add more players to the ranks.

The German said: “The worrying part is the level of commitment, physically and mentally… it was far higher for Arsenal than us.

“[There was] 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 come from sanctions, we come from losing top-quality players, key players, we are a club in transition, in transition of ownership, we were behind in the transfer race and we were behind in the table. So we have things to improve,” he added.

“The signing of Raheem [Sterling] shows what we’re capable of doing, it shows the ambition of the club and the ownership and it’s good because we’re all here to win and compete.

“We love to compete and we love the challenge at the very top. For that we need signings of new quality players, otherwise there’s no chance.”