Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has spoken of the shock felt by teammate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang when Thomas Tuchel was sacked as manager and replaced by Graham Potter.
Aubameyang mentioned Tuchel's importance when signing for the Blues, suggesting he was excited to work with the manager again after thriving under him at Borussia Dortmund several years ago. However, the German boss was gone within a week of those comments, after losing at Dinamo Zagreb in what was the former Barcelona striker's debut for Chelsea.
While he has opened up again on the relationship he has with Tuchel, the Gabonese striker appears optimistic about the new manager. Still, at least according to Kepa, it seems he needed a bit of time to adjust to the news.
“The truth is that the first days he arrived a little scared. He was a little in shock, a lot of change," the goalkeeper said of Aubameyang, as reported by The Sun. "The last two or three days were very crazy for him, everything that happened to him was a misfortune.”
In addition to the whirlwind move from Barcelona to London and the change in the dugout, Aubameyang was the victim of a reported armed robbery at his home in Spain. The striker suffered injuries in the incident, and has played wearing a mask in his first two Chelsea games.
Kepa was speaking after a 1-1 draw at home to Red Bull Salzburg in the Champions League which left the Blues bottom of their group after two matches. Aubameyang played more than an hour of the game before making way for Armando Broja, but it was fellow forward Raheem Sterling who scored the hosts' goal.
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"Everyone knows the relationship that I had with Thomas," Aubameyang told Hayters TV after the Salzburg game. "It's always sad when someone leaves the club.
"Obviously, I just saw him for a few days. When you play football you have to adapt very quickly to some moments in the season, this can happen."
He said he had not yet spoken to Tuchel since the sacking, but planned to "as soon as possible". The 33-year-old also spoke of his optimism about the new manager, who left former club Brighton with the Seagulls ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League table.
"I think he is a person who is really positive and with a great character," Aubameyang said, as reported by The Evening Standard. "We will try to learn with him. We want to win as soon as possible.
"I think his idea is very clear so I think it is going to be easy. I think it takes time to adapt to each other as well but it is going to be okay."
