Enzo Maresca’s record so far as Chelsea boss has been very good against smaller teams and very poor against bigger teams.
This weekend we have another big game, this time against Arsenal. In his pre-match press conference today, the coach was asked about these big games and whether he feels more pressure:
“I don’t know. I also like to get pressure from these kinds of game. The pressure is also for us. For sure, [Arsenal] are the closest team to City. Both, I consider them better than the rest,” Maresca responded.
He also explained his reasoning for putting Arsenal in that top bracket with Man City:
“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. So for me, that’s why they are better than the rest. But we’re going to try on Sunday to make life difficult for them. We’re going to try our best.”
Marc Cucurella and Benoit Badiashile can only watch on as Ben White scores for Arsenal
“Statement win” irrelevant to Maresca who just needs points
Maresca had earlier answered questions about whether he needed a “statement win” over one of the big teams, after defeats to Liverpool and City and a draw with Manchester United.
He was right to brush the question off – that’s for the media to worry about, not him. 3 points against Southampton is worth the same as 3 against Man City, and all the coach should worry about (especially in his first season at the club) is how many points we end up with.
Statement wins and things like that are for other people to judge and argue over. Beating Arsenal matters, but it would matter just as much if it were a relegation candidate we were facing.
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