The Arsenal defeat was Chelsea’s third game of their US tour
Thomas Tuchel questioned Chelsea’s commitment and said they urgently need signings after the 4-0 pre-season defeat by Arsenal in Florida on Saturday.
Gabriel Jesus, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and Albert Sambi Lokonga scored in the first half.
Chelsea manager Tuchel has suggested his side may not be ready for their Premier League opener at Everton on August 6.
“I’m far from relaxed,” Tuchel said. “We just weren’t good enough. We just weren’t competitive.”
The Gunners dominated the game in front of a record 63,811 fans at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium.
Jesus, who joined from Manchester City in a £45million deal on July 4, put Arsenal ahead after 15 minutes, and three more goals wrapped up a comprehensive victory.
Bukayo Saka celebrates Arsenal’s third goal with teammates Marquinhos and Gabriel
Arsenal have now won all three games on their US tour, scoring nine goals.
“It’s just not competitive”
Speaking after the game, Tuchel said his team “deserved to lose”.
He added: “The worrying part is that the level of physical and mental commitment in this game was much higher for Arsenal than for us.
“I think they played what is their strongest line-up and structure that you see now for a number of weeks. That was the line-up they will try to start for the Premier League games.
“It certainly wasn’t our strongest line-up. That’s part of an explanation, but only a small part and the other is worrying.
“I can’t guarantee we’ll be ready in two weeks.”
The match was Chelsea’s third and final appearance on their tour of the United States. They had earlier defeated Mexican club America 2-1 and lost on penalties to Charlotte FC of Major League Soccer.
Chelsea have made two high-profile signings this summer in striker Raheem Sterling from Manchester City and centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. Striker Romelu Lukaku and defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen are among those who have left.
Chelsea now have new owners following a takeover by a consortium led by American businessman Todd Boehly, a deal that happened after the UK government imposed sanctions on previous owner Roman Abramovich.
“I look at last season and parts of the game where we struggled, parts of the season where we struggled, and then we got banned and players left us and some players are trying to leave us, and that’s where it’s at,” he said. added Tuchel said.
“So we had an urgent call for quality players, a lot of quality players. We have two quality players but we are not competitive like that. Unfortunately, you could see that today.”
He said Koulibaly, who came on with 20 minutes remaining, was the only positive for Chelsea.
“He was the best player,” Tuchel said. “It was incredibly good, I must say.”