The Blues were second best to our London rivals in the first half, where goals from Gabriel Jesus and Martin Odegaard had the Gunners in the driving seat at the Camping World Stadium.

The Blues rallied after the break, following a flurry of half-time substitutes, but despite carving out a couple of decent opportunities, it was the red side of London who were celebrating next as Bukayo Saka added a third from close range.

There was time for a fourth Gunners goal deep into stoppage time, as a pair of substitutes - in the form of Cedri and Lokonga - combined with the former crossing for the latter to head home at the back post.

Despite the result, one major positive to come from this Stateside derby was a first outing for Kalidou Koulibaly, while Raheem Sterling also upped his pre-season minutes with a first start.

Tuchel and the players will now return to the UK following the conclusion of our US tour, with just a fortnight left to go before the big kick-off of the 2022/23 Premier League gets underway.

The selection

Tuchel handed a first Chelsea start to Raheem Sterling, following the winger’s cameo from the bench against Charlotte FC last time out.

Fellow summer addition, Kalidou Koulibaly was named among the substitutes for the first time since his switch from Napoli was confirmed.

Edouard Mendy was between the sticks, with a back four – rather than the usual three - in front of him, consisting of Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Thiago Silva and Emerson.

Jorginho captained the side and was partnered in midfield by Cobham graduates Mason Mount and Conor Gallagher, while Sterling was joined by Kai Havertz and Timo Werner in attack.

Slow start

Despite the evening kick-off, the temperature at pitch level was still at around 30C when the game got underway in front of a record attendance of 63, 811.

Given the humid conditions, it took a while for the Blues to get into game as Arsenal took control of the opening exchanges and looked the more likely to find an opening.

However, the Blues did offer the first sight at goal as Raheem Sterling – playing in a more deeper role than we’ve seen of him during his days at Man City – show some neat footwork to get away from his man and slip in Timo Werner, but the German was quickly charged down by William Saliba and couldn’t get a shot away.

From the resulting corner, the Gunners broke on us with a devastating counter-attack which left us thankful to Edouard Mendy in goal as he kept out Bukayo Saka’s strike when one-on-one.

Mikel Arteta’s side did break the deadlock after a quarter of an hour, with a goal that could have been avoided. Trevoh Chalobah gave away possession and after some quick Arsenal thinking to slip in Jesus, the Brazilian did the rest with a sublime lifted finish over Mendy.

Five minutes later, Mendy had to be alert to tip an Odegaard free-kick over the bar.

Gunners double their lead

Ten minutes before the break, we found ourselves two goals behind as Odegaard latched onto a slick through pass from Martinelli before expertly drilling the ball beyond Mendy and into the corner.

That Arsenal goal did spark the Blues into a response, as first Reece James flashed a low drive across the face of goal before Mount saw a stunning effort tipped onto the woodwork by Aaron Ramsdale in the Arsenal goal.

Trevoh Chalobah was then forced off through injury on the stroke of half-time, to be replaced by Malang Sarr.

Flurry of half-time changes

Sarr wasn’t the only new face after the break, as Tuchel sent on Azpilicueta, Alonso, Kovacic and Pulisic to try and change the complexion of this tie.

Azpilicueta joined Thiago Silva and Sarr in defence as we switched to our more accustomed back three, which allowed Mount to move further forward along with Havertz and Pulisic.

The change helped as Chelsea started the second half brightly, enjoying a lot more of the ball than in the first half, with Mount dragging a shot wide as a warning sign to the Gunners that there was still a game to contest in Orlando.

Record attendance see Kalidou’s debut

With just over 20 minutes left to play, Arsenal made it 3-0 through Saka who fired into the roof of the net for Arsenal’s third, despite a fine double save from Mendy in the build-up.

The Senegalese stopper denied Odegaard and Granit Xhake in quick succession but Saka was on hand to convert the rebound from close range, despite strong shouts for offside. With no VAR in operation, the goal stood.

Moments later, an announcement went up on the big screens to reveal that the 63, 811 in attendance at the Camping World Stadium was a complete sell-out and a record soccer attendance here.

They were then treated to a first glimpse of Koulibaly in action for Chelsea, with the defender replacing Thiago Silva with around 15 minutes remaining.

The former Napoli man looked solid and composed on the ball, making one outstanding block to deny Pepe adding a fourth, in what was an impressive first cameo albeit in a frustrating evening for the team.

What’s next?

The Blues will now head back to London, following the conclusion of our tour of America. Next on the agenda for Tuchel’s side is some work at Cobham, before our final pre-season fixture which takes place in Italy against Udinese. After that, the focus turns quickly to the opening Premier League clash of the season away at Everton.

Chelsea: Mendy; James (Hudson-Odoi 73), Chalobah (Sarr 44), Thiago Silva (Koulibaly 73), Emerson (Alonso h/t), Gallagher (Kovacic h/t), Jorginho (c) (Ampadu 73), Mount (Ziyech 64), Sterling (Pulisic h/t), Havertz (Batshuayi 64), Werner (Azpilicueta h/t).

Unused subs: Bettinelli, Sharman-Lowe, Chilwell.

Booked: Sarr, Ampadu, Koulibaly

Arsenal: Ramsdale (Turner 76), White (Cedric 76), Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko (Tavares h/t), Partey (Eleney 76), Xhaka (Maitland-Niles 76), Saka (Marquinhos 76), Odegaard (c) (Lokonga 76), Martinelli (Pepe 76), Jesus (Nketiah 57).

Unused subs: Bellerin, Walters, Mari, Holding, Nelson, Balogun.

Scorers: Jesus 15, Odegaard 35, Saka 66, Lokonga 90+3

Att: 63, 811