Lukaku is set to make his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal on Sunday

Thomas Tuchel has paved the way for Romelu Lukaku to make his second Chelsea debut against Arsenal on Sunday and backed the £97.5million signing to be the final piece in his jigsaw.

Lukaku has returned to Stamford Bridge after seven years following spells with Everton, Manchester United and Inter Milan, the club he left to return to the English game.

‘We are hoping he is on the pitch on Sunday,’ said Tuchel. ‘We hope he is [the missing piece in the puzzle] but at the same time we try to find solutions for any questions we are asked during the games.

‘We still want to be a strong squad. Romelu is the kind of personality and profile we were missing up front and from now it’s our job to push ourselves to the limit.

‘Romelu is unique. He can play with his back to goal but also he is at his strongest in transition, with his immense speed. Add to that the fact he is a true goalscorer so he is unique – a new experience for me.

‘Of course we expect goals and he expects that too. He has delivered goals wherever he has been and we will see how far his impact goes.’

Tuchel also expects Arsenal to behave as underdogs to try to gain an edge in the London derby fixture at Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners endured a desperate opening weekend to the Premier League season, first suffering a coronavirus outbreak within the squad and then losing 2-0 at newly-promoted Brentford, with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta expressing surprise on Friday that the game had not been postponed.

Tuchel said: ‘When I put myself in their shoes, they can play the underdog role. They’ve had complications with Covid-19 and difficulties in their first match.

‘So they will try to put themselves in the role of underdog which is fair enough. It’s up to us to be focused and we are well aware of everything they will ask of us.’