Enzo Maresca admits Sunday’s meeting with Arsenal is a “big moment” in Chelsea’s season, while insisting his side are getting “better and better”. Chelsea go into the game at Stamford Bridge six points behind Mikel Arteta’s Premier League leaders, knowing a victory could halve the gap.
Coming off the back of a statement Champions League win over Barcelona, Maresca said there is no time to dwell ahead of what could be a season-defining contest. “It’s a big moment,” the Chelsea boss told Sky Sports. “Especially because it’s a derby. It’s against Arsenal. They are in good form. Defensively they are very good. And then offensively they are fantastic players. They have different weapons, not only set-pieces because everyone is talking about set-pieces, not only set-pieces. They have players that can decide the game at any moment. On the ball and off the ball, they are very good. But, we are in good form too. All the games are different. Hopefully we can have a good game and win.”
Many feared Chelsea would struggle after a hectic summer that included the Club World Cup following an already successful campaign of a top-four finish and a Europa Conference League triumph. Instead, Maresca has guided them into early title contention, with extra time together improving cohesion.
“I think we are better than last season, for sure,” he added. “The reason why is because we have spent one more year together. Where we are in this moment, to be honest, I don’t know. What I know is that we’re going in the right direction and we are competing every game against any team.”
Sky Sports News chief correspondent Kaveh Solhekol said Chelsea have “zero expectations” of winning the title this season, despite being Arsenal’s nearest challengers. Maresca, however, pointed to confidence within the squad. “Winning last season or finishing top four helped a lot in terms of confidence, energy and belief because they can see they are able to do anything to win any games,” he said. “Last season helped a lot, and I think this season you can see we are getting better and better.”
On the other side, Arteta is keeping his team grounded ahead of the chance to go nine points clear. Paul Merson claimed the Premier League is Arsenal’s to lose, but Arteta refused to be drawn into that debate. “I’m confident in what we’ve done up to now and the things that we can control,” he said. “This is football and now we have to show it every single day what we are capable of.”
Fitness issues were a major factor in Arsenal falling short last season, especially in the first half. Recent weeks have again brought injuries to players such as Gabriel, Martin Odegaard and Viktor Gyokeres, but Arteta believes his squad has coped better this time thanks to greater depth. “There was a moment last year that we had 14, 13 players to play for competition, which was very difficult,” he said. “Now we have increased the depth and we have increased the quality as well, which is something that we needed.”
Arteta also highlighted the importance of mentality and unity. “If we are all here with the same purpose, which is to give our best to try to bring success, joy and trophies to this football club, we all have to be in the same boat. We’re going to have moments and roles that are going to change. The better we understand that and the more we look after each other and are focused on the task, the more efficient we’re going to be. You see a lot of examples of players coming in and winning the game for us and that’s only if your mindset and the clarity on that is superb.”
Both managers have framed the Stamford Bridge clash as a test of form, depth and mentality rather than a definitive marker of title credentials, with Chelsea bullish about their progress and Arsenal intent on maintaining focus amid external expectations.