Enzo Maresca will relish the pressure of chasing a statement victory when Chelsea try to enhance their top-four credentials in their clash with Arsenal on Sunday.
The head coach, who hopes that Cole Palmer will shake off a knee injury in time, has seen his team perform encouragingly in last Sunday’s draw with Manchester United and defeats by Liverpool and Manchester City. The onus is on Chelsea to win a big game and Maresca is not concerned about whether there is more heat on Arsenal after their disappointing run.
“I also like to get pressure from these kinds of game,” he said. “The pressure is also for us. For sure, they [Arsenal] are the closest one with City. Both I consider better than the rest. The reason why is because one club is working with the same manager for nine years, and the other one is working with the same manager for five years, and this is a big, big, big advantage compared to the rest … but we’re going to try on Sunday to make life difficult for them.”
In their previous meeting in April Arsenal recorded a 5-0 win at the Emirates Stadium, but Chelsea have made strong strides under Maresca. They are above Arsenal on goal difference and there is a sense that the rivalry is hotting up after a challenging couple of seasons for Chelsea.
“The feeling from us is that we can compete and win against any team,” Maresca said. “If you don’t take it serious you can lose against any team. But we have the feeling that we are going in the right direction.”
Maresca acknowledged that Chelsea must deal with Arsenal’s set-piece threat. “Mentally it will be very tough,” he said. “Set-pieces, they are very good. I watched the Champions League game against Inter Milan, and every corner was smelling of a goal.”
Palmer was injured when fouled by Lisandro Martínez at Old Trafford. The playmaker has not trained fully but came into the press room and helped himself to dinner and dessert before Chelsea’s 8-0 win over the Armenian side Noah in the Europa Conference League on Thursday. “He’s getting better,” Maresca said. “If he can walk and have dinner, that doesn’t mean he is completely fit. He’s getting better. Hopefully we can have him for the session at least on Saturday and then we can take a decision.”
