Unlucky Chelsea did everything not to lose against Arsenal – Tuchel

CHELSEA boss Thomas Tuchel believes his side were the architects of their own misfortune in Wednesday night’s Premier League defeat to Arsenal.

Despite a dominant display, Chelsea lost 1-0 to their London rivals, Emile Smith Rowe scoring the only goal of the match after a Jorginho error.

Tuchel blamed himself for fielding a much-changed starting line-up and admitted that his side received a “wake-up call” which could affect their route to next season’s UEFA Champions League.

“It is our fault, nobody else’s,” Tuchel told reporters.

“We lost the game, it’s totally our responsibility. Overall we were not sharp enough, we could not put up the same intensity as usual.

“Maybe I made too many changes from the last match so I take full responsibility for that, and maybe it’s the last wake-up call for us. I felt it a little bit coming in training yesterday and I’m a bit unlucky that it is proven today on the pitch. We had three days [to prepare], we had a good run and were in a good mood, but the choices were not so good on my side for the line-up so this is on me.

“We were unlucky but we did everything today to lose. I’m not happy with my line-up, I should not have done it like this.”

The German felt his seven changes from the last match might have sent the wrong message, with Saturday’s FA Cup final on the horizon.

“Maybe also I gave some signals to the team with changes that Saturday is on my mind, even if it’s only 5% or 1%,” he added.

Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League table and will guarantee a top-four place if they win one of their two games left against Leicester City and Aston Villa.

Beating Manchester City in the Champions League final would also ensure they qualify for next season’s competition.

Arsenal’s win was their first at Stamford Bridge in 10 years, and Arteta’s side can still qualify for the new Europa Conference League.