Chelsea have managed to find some great form recently, remaining undefeated in their last six matches across all competitions. Their performance against Barcelona in the Champions League was a joy to watch, as they completely outplayed their famous opposition in all departments while keeping players like Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski completely quiet for the entirety of the match.
Chelsea’s next important game is coming up on Sunday, where they will host Arsenal. It’s an opportunity for the Blues to close the gap between themselves and their London rivals, who are currently six points ahead at the top of the Premier League table.
Both London clubs are among the favourites to win this year’s Premier League, and their recent performances support that. But Enzo Maresca seems to believe that it is ‘too early’ to declare his Chelsea team title contenders.
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta seems to have a different view. As reported by Metro, when asked whether he viewed Chelsea as title challengers, he said:
"I think we are all there, and they are there because they fully deserve what they have done in the last few years.
‘I think the squad that they assembled, the numbers that they have, the quality that they have, the number of coaches they have it makes sense that what is happening there is very, very positive and they deserve to be there."
Mikel Arteta disagrees with Enzo Maresca's Chelsea claim
Chelsea have undergone some major tweaks following the change in ownership, but the dust seems to have finally settled lately, which was evident from their performance in the second half of last season. During that period, the Blues were crowned World Champions and also won the Conference League.
Chelsea haven’t slowed down in this campaign by any means and are currently second in the Premier League table with seven wins in 12 matches. Additionally, they are in the top 8 of the Champions League, which would give them an automatic qualification spot in the next round.
It is a well-known fact that Chelsea have shifted to investing in talented youngsters rather than established individuals. Although this policy was criticised at the beginning, it all seems to be falling into place now.
There is no shortage of quality players for Maresca to rely on, and this could be the season when Chelsea reclaim the Premier League title. Additionally, winning another Champions League trophy isn’t out of the equation either.
Nevertheless, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The matchup against Arsenal is the next task to focus on, as Chelsea will look to secure all three points against arguably the most in-form team in all of Europe right now.