MARESCA AIMING TO BRIDGE THE GAP
ENZO MARESCA has claimed the gap between Chelsea and Arsenal remains “quite big”.
But the Italian reckons his side could still overtake the Gunners in the race for second place if they win at the Emirates Stadium tomorrow.
Chelsea’s 5-0 humiliation at Arsenal last April under Mauricio Pochettino was a major factor behind yet another managerial change at Stamford Bridge – despite the Argentine leading the Blues into Europe with victories in his final five games.
Arteta has been in charge at Arsenal since December 2019 and has won one FA Cup, beating Chelsea in the final.
Their London rivals have won the Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup in that period.
But the Gunners are now six points clear of fourth-placed Chelsea and in the Champions League quarter-finals for a second consecutive season.
“The gap? It’s quite big,” Maresca said of Arsenal’s progress under Arteta.
“The reason why is because they are working with the same manager for five years, so the difference is quite important. With the same players, they have already played some important games.
“Our target, our duty, is to close that gap between us and them. The table says the difference is six points, so we are quite close, but we still have 10 games to go.” A revenge victory at the Emirates would close the gap to only three points – and extend Chelsea’s winning streak to five games in all competitions.
“Second? It could be a target, for sure,” Maresca acknowledged. “It’s our duty to do our best, but the target for us is Sunday’s game. And then game after game to see how we can go close.”
Pochettino had challenged his Chelsea team to “show this is Chelsea Football Club, not Cole Palmer Football Club” when the England star was out injured last April. Now Palmer, who missed a penalty against Leicester, is on a barren run of 10 games without a goal in a team needing a new striker next season to back up the injured Nicolas Jackson.
Arsenal, without Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus and Bukayo Saka for tomorrow’s derby, will also be in the market for a striker this summer. Maresca added: “It’s quite strange for both because we have all of them injured.
“They are trying to find a solution, we are trying to find a solution at the same time.”
CHELSEA are preparing for the future having agreed a deal to steal Geovany Quenda from under the noses of Manchester United.
The teenage winger will join the Blues from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2026 with Chelsea paying in the region of £40million.