Off the back of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea departure, new striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang must be asking himself if he has a future at Chelsea.
The former Arsenal captain left the Premier League on deadline day of January this year, joining FC Barcelona on a free transfer. Aubameyang’s time at Arsenal was full of individual brilliance, particularly during his first 3 campaigns. In his first full campaign in the PL, Auba finished joint top-scorer. At the end of 2019/2020 campaign, the Gabonese International led his side to FA Cup glory with instrumental performances which saw him bag a brace in both the semi-final and final.
Even with Aubameyang showing his undoubted quality over the last decade, he has lost that extra yard of pace that saw defenders trembling at the prospect of coming up against him.
Despite Auba being 33 years-old now, Thomas Tuchel must have still thought he could get a tune out of the forward and add quality to Chelsea’s faltering attack. The pair spent time together at Borussia Dortmund where Auba became one of Tuchel’s most trusted players scoring 79 goals in 95 appearances under the German’s tutelage.
Tuchel spoke about their bond in mid-August during a press conference “I enjoyed a lot working with him. It was a pleasure. This has nothing to do with the situation now, but some players stay your players over the years because you were very, very close.
“Straight away there was a huge bond. We have a very close relationship.”
In Aubameyang’s interview upon completing his move to Chelsea, the striker was asked if he was excited to be reunited with Tuchel. “Yeah, definitely yes. It will be another again, and obviously I will enjoy it because we had some good times in Dortmund.
“I’m really happy to play for him again.”
The reunion lasted all of 6 days, and 59 minutes of football. Given Auba’s Arsenal connection, it is safe to assume that Tuchel played a hugely influential role in convincing him to sign for Chelsea, 8 months after leaving their crosstown rivals.
The number 9 jersey at Chelsea is infamous for all the strikers that crumble under its pressure. Aubameyang will be fearing for his future at Chelsea now that his safety net, Tuchel, is no longer there.