Enzo Maresca full press conference as he answers Moises Caicedo vs Declan Rice question

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has spoken at a press conference ahead of this weekend’s big Premier League game against Arsenal.

The Blues host the Gunners at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon, and it could end up being a crucial six-pointer in this season’s title race.

Chelsea are six points behind league leaders Arsenal at the moment, but they’re in fine form after beating Barcelona 3-0 in the Champions League this week.

Maresca has now given a press conference looking ahead to the game, discussing topics such as the Moises Caicedo vs Declan Rice debate and Cole Palmer’s fitness. Read on for the full press conference transcript below…

Any other concerns after Tuesday night at all?

No. We have also Dario Essugo, he took part in the session this morning. So, good news for both.

Is Estevao Willian making it very difficult not to pick him week in, week out with performances like he did on Tuesday?

It’s always good when the ones that they start and they play, they do the right things. It’s good because they give, in this case, they give me a doubt always for the next games. But it’s important that when they have the chance, they play good, they do the right things. And then it’s a good problem for the manager always.

Arsenal top of the league, top of the Champions League. What is it about Arsenal that you think are setting them apart from everybody else this season?

For sure they defend fantastically. Any teams against them, they struggle to score goals, not only to score goals, but even to create chances. So it’s a team that they defend very well. Then they have weapons when they attack. So I think it’s, as you said, in this moment they are top in the Champions League, they are top in the Premier League. And we’re going to try our best to win the game.

Are Moises Caicedo and Declan Rice the two best midfielders in the Premier League and do you see that midfield battle as being maybe a key between who comes out on top on Sunday?

I think the Premier League is full of good players, very good midfielders. As you said, Moises, Declan, Rodri from City, [Elliot] Anderson from Nottingham Forest, [Bruno] Guimaraes from Newcastle. I think the Premier League is full of very good midfielders.

Do you see that midfield battle though as being crucial on Sunday?

It’s a big part but it’s not the only one. I think it’s 11v11, the ones that go on from the bench. The big picture is not just one part of the picture. It’s a big game, first versus second.

You win, you go three points behind Arsenal. There is talk that there’s not too much expectation on Chelsea to perhaps win the Premier League this season. But if you were to beat Arsenal on Sunday and close that gap, would there be a feeling internally that actually this might be something we could achieve this year?

I think it’s too early in any case. If we win, if we don’t win, I think it’s too early. We are still, end of November, we are still five, six months to go. I think it’s very important when we’re going to be in February, March, where we are, and from there we decide and we see if we can achieve something important.

Would you say Arsenal is an even bigger challenge than Tuesday night?

I think it’s, I said after the game, it’s another big game. We finished one against Barcelona. As you said, we won, it was a good feeling. And now we have another one. Now if it’s bigger than the last one, I don’t know. For me, they are all important games for sure. Beating Barcelona, or in case we are able to beat Arsenal, it’s a nice feeling. But at the end, it’s three points.

Is the feeling different in training? Is the mood different, the mindset different at all?

Yeah, the mindset and the mood in this moment for us is very good because we are doing quite good in the Premier League, we are doing quite well in the Champions League. I think it’s a good feeling also that we can see that we are improving, we are growing. So this is the best feeling for us.

It was an amazing atmosphere on Tuesday night at Stamford Bridge. How important to recreate that on Sunday? Can you use that to your advantage?

Absolutely, yes. We need that environment, we need the fans in the way they were. And it’s always nice to share that kind of moment at the end of the game with everyone.

It was about this time last year that people were saying you could win the title, but you played it down. Do you think it’s different now? Do you think you are ready as a group to win it?

I think for sure it’s different compared to one year ago. It’s because we spent one more year together. We went through moments where we can learn from that moment. Then again, for me it’s very early. We are still at the end of November, December. So it’s very early and it’s important to be where we are now in March, April and then we’ll see.

Can you see different mentalities in the players this season and wins over Barcelona surely that’s only going to help?

Yes, but these players, I can understand that we are always talking about the last game. But I think these players, they showed many times that they can beat teams. In the Premier League last year I think we had some good moments where we were able to beat teams. Then PSG, the Club World Cup final. This season, I don’t know, against Liverpool or Barcelona. We compete always. Sometimes we are able to win, sometimes we are not able to win. But it’s important that we compete against any team.

So is the hard part maintaining that level of performance that you produced on Tuesday night, trying to get some consistency given that it is a young group?

Yes, but I think we are in the right direction.

Arsenal are really strong from set-pieces. How do you counter that?

We try to defend in the best way we can. I think Arsenal is not just against one team or two teams. Arsenal, they score goals in set-pieces against any team. The last game against Bayern Munich, they scored the first one from corner. It’s not just that they score goals against. They score goals against any team. They have a system in place that works very well and we’re going to try to do our best to defend in the best way.