“If you’re not there after £1B spent over the past two years, nobody is a title contender” - Ex-Arsenal star aims dig at Chelsea and Enzo Maresca

Former Arsenal star Gael Clichy has insisted that Chelsea are in the Premier League title race. He isn't interested in Enzo Maresca's comments and claims that they cannot say they're not in the fight for the title after spending £1 billion.

Clichy said on BBC Radio 5 that Chelsea not winning the Premier League title this season would be a failure. He believes that the Blues' have spent enough to make them title contenders and said (via beIN Sports):

"Are you a title contender? I've seen the coach saying: 'We're not there yet'. Well, my friend, if you're not there after £1 billion spent over the past two years, nobody is a title contender. If you look at the money they're spending, of course they have to win it. Anything other than winning the title would be a failure in my opinion."

Chelsea are second in the Premier League table over Clichy's former sides, Arsenal and Manchester City – who sit third and fourth, respectively. Liverpool lead the charts with 36 points from 15 matches.

---

Chelsea not in the Premier League title race claims Enzo Maresca

Enzo Maresca has claimed that he has not got the feeling that Chelsea are in the Premier League title race yet. He believes that the focus remains on getting the day-to-day things right and said (via Chelsea.news):

"You can smell that [a title race], you can feel that. Probably this is the reason why I said we are not ready, because we don't feel that and we don't smell that in this moment. Hopefully soon we can be there.

"I like to convince myself and convince the players that the only way to fight for something is just to be focused day-by-day. When you start to think about 'in two days, three days, one month, two months', it's the beginning of the bad times."

Levi Colwill has also insisted that his club are not in the Premier League title race. He claimed that they have a lot to improve and would not be 2-0 down to Tottenham Hotspur after 11 minutes if they were in the battle for the title. He said:

"We have still got a lot to improve on, when we’re ready to push for a title we won’t be 2-0 down in the first 10 minutes. That’s the level we need to be at and that’s what we need to keep working on.”

The Blues face Brentford at home this weekend in the Premier League. They come into the match after beating Tottenham 4-3 and Astana 3-1 during the week.