"The difference is quite important" - Enzo Maresca explains why there is a 'big' difference between Chelsea and Arsenal ahead of Premier League clash

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has claimed that there is a major gap between Arsenal and his side at the moment. The Blues will travel across London on Sunday, March 16 to take on Mikel Arteta's side.

Earlier this season, Chelsea emerged as a surprise title challenger in a three-horse title race along with Liverpool and Arsenal. However, they have fallen off significantly since December, while Mikel Arteta's side are also 15 points behind league leaders Liverpool right now.

Ahead of what could be a big result for their Champions League qualification, Enzo Maresca has discussed the gulf in quality between the Gunners and the Blues. He has insisted that Arsenal are way ahead of his side in their project as they have stuck with Mikel Arteta for five years now. The Chelsea manager said, as quoted by Standard:

“It is quite big. The reason why is because they are working with the same manager for five years. The difference is quite important. With the same players, they already played for some important games. But our target, our duty is to close that gap between us and them. In this moment, the table just says the difference between us and them it’s six points, if I am not wrong."

Maresca added:

“So, we are quite close, but we still have 10 games to go. In this moment we have two targets, that is finish top four or five for Champions League [qualification] and the other one is the Conference League. This club used to play finals and fight for titles. So if we are able to give to the fans and to the club this chance to fight for a title, I think it is important for us.”

The former Leicester City manager concluded:

“They can be nine [clear of us]! At the moment, they are six. We are not focused if [the gap] can be three or nine or six. We are just focused on how we can do our game, how we can try to beat them. Then, hopefully, we can do that and we can be closer [to them]. It (second place) could be a target, for sure. It’s our duty to do our best. But, at the same time, I think the target for us is Sunday’s game and then game after game how we can go close.”

Chelsea secured a 1-1 draw against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge earlier this season. Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring for the north London giants before Pedro Neto equalized in thee 70th minute.

---

Chelsea and Arsenal looking to snap up a cut-price move for highly rated defender: Reports

Chelsea and Arsenal are reportedly pursuing a move for highly regarded Sporting CP centre-back Ousmane Diomande this summer. As reported by Caught Offside, the two Premier League giants believe they can land the Ivorian at a cut-price deal.

Diomande has grown from strength to strength since joining Sporting CP in January 2023 from FC Midtjylland. The young defender has attracted interest from several top European clubs and has an €80 million release clause in his deal.

However, both Arsenal and Chelsea believe that the Portuguese giants could sell him for a significantly lesser fee. Diomande has made 91 appearances for Sporting CP this summer and won the Primeira Liga last season.