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Chelsea boss Maresca on challenge of facing Arsenal, pressure on Mikel Arteta and race for European qualification (Full Presser)
NicheSportMedia
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15/03/2025
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca previews their Premier League clash with Arsenal, the pressure on Mikel Arteta and discusses the race for European qualification and the fitness of his squad
Stamford Bridge, London, UK
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Sports
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00:00
Arsenal have had a manager for more than five years now, and that's a sign that they're
00:29
making progress. He's been under pressure a lot lately, Mikel Arteta, because he's not
00:37
won a trophy apart from the FA Cup when he first took over. Is it a sign of strength
00:42
or a sign of weakness from the Arsenal board that they've not made that change, or how
00:47
do you read that from the Arsenal board, that they've stuck with him?
00:50
I'm focused about Chelsea and about Arsenal, and not about Mikel.
00:53
Okay, but you've mentioned it yourself prior to this, you've talked about Arsenal and the
00:59
fact that they've had the manager for a long, long time, so you've spoken about it before.
01:03
What's your take on the fact that they've stuck with him for so long? Is it a good sign
01:07
for managers as a whole that clubs can be this patient?
01:11
It's a question for the Arsenal board.
01:13
Okay, but you have spoken about it before though, that's why I've asked.
01:17
Yeah, I just said that Arsenal have had the same manager for the last five years. Then
01:21
if it's correct or not, it's no question for me.
01:22
So is it still a team that Chelsea would aspire to be like, that you would like Chelsea to
01:28
be more like, to follow that model? You've said that before.
01:32
Chelsea is going to follow the model that they want to follow. They don't need to copy
01:36
Arsenal.
01:37
How big do you think the gap is between Chelsea and Arsenal right now?
01:43
It's quite big. The reason why is because they are working with the same manager for
01:48
five years, so the difference is quite important. With the same players, they already played
01:54
for some important games. But our target, our duty is to close that gap between us and
02:01
them. In this moment, the table just said that the difference between us and them is
02:06
I think six points, if I'm not wrong. So we are quite close, but we have still nine games
02:12
to go.
02:13
You've got a good chance of winning a competition this year in Europe, but if you did qualify
02:17
for the Champions League next season via the league, would that feel like a trophy in itself?
02:23
In this moment, we have two targets. That is to finish top four or top five for the
02:27
Champions League, and the other one is the conference. This club used to play final and
02:34
fight for titles, so if we are able to give to the fans and to the club, again, this chance
02:42
to fight for titles, I think it's important for us.
02:46
Has the 5-0 from last season, even though it was before your time, been watched in detail
02:52
and used as a motivating factor?
02:58
No, we played the first leg at home here, I think it was 1-1. We played a very good
03:03
game and I didn't use for any motivation last year's game.
03:08
Can I just ask you as well about goalkeepers? You had said Philippe Jorgensen was the Premier
03:14
League goalkeeper playing tonight. Is Rob Sanchez likely to play in that game?
03:20
Yes, it will be Robert playing against Arsene.
03:22
Do you expect any changes of goalkeeper now in the Premier League between now and the
03:25
LEC?
03:26
Since we started, the idea was not to change keeper, but sometimes you have to modify,
03:30
you have to be flexible with your idea. We do this in the game plan, we do this the way
03:35
we want to attack, the way we want to defend, but also we need to be flexible on players.
03:40
I think Robert needs some days off or at least rest mentally. Now he's back, hopefully we
03:50
are not going to change until the end. Also because I said many times, we are quite happy
03:54
with both keepers.
03:55
You said you're only six points behind Arsenal, could be three on Sunday. Are they catchable
04:02
in second place?
04:03
Yes, they can be nine. At the moment they are six. We are not focused on if they can
04:10
be three or nine or six. We are just focused on how we can do our game, how we can try
04:15
to beat them and then hopefully we can do that and we can be more close.
04:19
On the run you're on, could be a target for you now?
04:26
Yes, it could be a target for sure. It's our duty to do our best, but at the same time
04:33
I think the target for us is the Sunday game and then game after game to see how we can
04:39
go close.
04:40
Is it realistic that you can go away to Arsenal to play them at the Emirates?
04:56
If it can be realistic.
04:58
Do you think it's realistic for your team to go away to Arsenal?
05:02
But the intention will be that. Then if we are able or not, it depends a lot on the opponent.
05:07
They just said to me that Pedro Neto tonight did the sprint, the quick sprint and the long
05:13
sprint, 90 minutes. I don't know if you remember the sprint that he did at the end. But the
05:17
reason why was because we were sitting back, we were at the edge of our box. So if we plan
05:22
the game sitting back and wait, for sure our strikers, wingers, they are going to do 20
05:29
sprints for 60, 70 metres. But when you play most of your game on the opposite side, there
05:34
is no space to do that kind of sprint. So Arsenal, our plan is to control the game,
05:39
but also it's a team that they are going to try to press high and they are going to try
05:43
to be aggressive and probably we have more space to attack in behind.
05:46
You mentioned it a bit just before about the results, won four in a row now. But I don't
05:57
know if you feel the team have turned a corner from the recent one. Do you feel like you
06:04
won four games in a row now and the team have turned a corner and put that winter blip behind
06:10
you?
06:11
No, I try to judge game after game. I think we lost some games where we didn't deserve
06:16
to lose. I still remember probably Bournemouth away that we won but we didn't deserve to
06:22
win. But also we dropped points in games that we deserved points. Villa away, I think
06:28
we deserved points for sure. But it's football. Now it's four games in a row, but it doesn't
06:34
mean that now we are going to win all the games or we are going to lose all the games.
06:38
It's just game by game.
06:39
Now the important thing is that we are almost in April, quarter-final, fourth in the league
06:44
and hopefully we can, as I said many times, we can bring this club where this club belongs
06:49
to. That is a different competition and we are going to try to do our best.
06:53
When you look at the games that they've missed, that seems to correlate with some of the more
07:02
difficult results that the team have had. How important is that?
07:05
Absolutely.
07:06
Is it the way your team plays?
07:07
No, absolutely. It's not an excuse, it's reality. But for us it's for all the club. When you
07:11
lose an important player, for some moment of the season we lost three players that they
07:17
are the ones that score more goals. Nico, injury, Noni Madoueke injury and Kool that
07:23
in this moment is struggling to score goals. So we are in the last four or five weeks,
07:28
the three guys that score more goals for us, two of them are not available, one is available
07:33
but he's a bit unlucky, he's missing goals. But there are more players that are doing
07:38
well.
07:40
Arsenal obviously don't have any fit strikers, yourselves don't have any fit strikers, so
07:46
a striker's London derby. How weird is that, planning tactically and how much do you relish
07:54
going up against Arteta and seeing who's tactics come out?
07:58
It's quite strange for both because we have all of them injured but I think they are trying
08:06
to find a solution, we are trying to find a solution at the same time. Pedro, since
08:10
we started, is doing very well in that position. We'll see if Sunday we use Pedro there or
08:17
we change something, we're going to see. But for sure, as I said before, all the clubs
08:23
during the season, they have moments where they have injury, so they need to adapt, they
08:27
need to be flexible and try to find a solution.
08:30
When you were at West Ham, you would have come across Declan Rice when he was much younger.
08:35
Did you, at the time, see a 100 million pound player? And also, just for Sunday, how do
08:40
you see the way to stop him?
08:44
A top player.
08:46
Did you see him becoming this good when he was at that age?
08:49
In this moment, he's a top player.
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