Maresca on Arsenal, Chelsea’s progress, and closing the 6-point gap | OneFootball

Enzo Maresca has admitted that Chelsea are still significantly behind Arsenal in their development under Mikel Arteta, but believes his team can make up ground in the race for second place with a victory at the Emirates Stadium.

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Chelsea were humiliated 5-0 by Arsenal in this fixture last season under Mauricio Pochettino, a result that contributed to yet another managerial change at Stamford Bridge.

Despite Pochettino leading Chelsea into European football with a strong finish, the club opted for a new direction, appointing Maresca to close the gap on their London rivals.

“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.

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“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 Chelsea victory on Sunday would cut the deficit to just three points, while extending their 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.”

Both sides enter the match with major attacking concerns.

Arsenal will be without Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, and Bukayo Saka, while Chelsea continue to struggle with the absence of Nicolas Jackson and an overreliance on Cole Palmer, who is on a run of 10 games without a goal.

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“It’s quite strange for both because we have all of them injured,” Maresca said. “They are trying to find a solution, we are trying to find a solution at the same time.”

With both clubs expected to invest in a new striker this summer, Sunday’s meeting at the Emirates will provide an opportunity to see how each side adapts in the absence of their attacking focal points.