The worst way for Chelsea to respond to their demolition of Barcelona would be to believe the hype. The problem is that emotions in football swing from one extreme to another, as the people running things at Stamford Bridge have quickly come to appreciate.
They have faced plenty of ridicule for their alternative approach since buying the club from Roman Abramovich three years ago, so perhaps they are entitled to be a little sceptical now that Chelsea are being praised for their transfer strategy and talked up as potential title challengers before hosting Arsenal on Sunday.
Contrary to public perception, this is not a board that gets carried away easily. The initial chaos has subsided – Chelsea have had four permanent managers since their takeover by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital – and the aim of building a sustainable long‑term project is incompatible with overreacting to one bad result, one decent run of form or even one thumping win over Barça in the Champions League.
The message has not changed since the start of the season: stay humble. It is worth remembering that there was plenty of critical noise from outside when Chelsea lost to Manchester United and Brighton at the end of September. Was anyone talking about a title challenge then? Or, indeed, after Chelsea blew a 1-0 lead and lost at home to Sunderland last month? The mood was different. Cool heads were required; the message from on high was that Enzo Maresca and his players had to trust themselves after the defeat by Brighton.
Now, with draining away games against Leeds and Bournemouth to come next week, the focus is on ensuring Chelsea are not lulled into complacency after that impressive dismissal of Barcelona.
Perhaps that stoic feel will help the youngest team in the Premier League stay level. Maresca, measured to a fault in his media dealings, plays into the strategy. Chelsea were in a similar position this time last year but the Italian repeatedly insisted they were not in the title race. He thought it was too soon in their development. Maresca faced criticism when Chelsea dropped off and ended up in a battle for Champions League qualification – had he given the players an out? – but he was in his first season as a Premier League manager. He and his players had to make mistakes and grow.
It is a deliberate tactic. Maresca is not given to making bold statements, often saying he is looking ahead no further than the next game. His stance has not been altered by Chelsea rising to second after five wins from their last six games. It will probably not even shift dramatically if they beat Arsenal and cut their opponents’ lead to three points.
“If we win, if we don’t win, I think it’s too early,” Maresca said on Friday. “We are still in November. It’s very important in February, March, where we are. From there we’ll see if we can achieve something important.”
That was about as close as it gets to an admission that, yes, it is possible for Chelsea to disrupt Arsenal. Yet there is no pressure on Maresca to win the league this season. The 45-year-old has targets to hit but Chelsea will not review his work until next summer. They have zero desire to be forced into sacking a manager during a season again. Chelsea want stability and are only just getting going.
They have deals in place to sign more youngsters in the summers of 2026 and 2027. They were criticised for selling Noni Madueke to Arsenal last summer but did so because moving an established Premier League player had to be done to make space for the incoming Estêvão Willian.
after newsletter promotion
Estêvão is learning. The 18-year-old winger was exceptional against Barça, scoring a stunning goal, but the Brazilian prodigy is unlikely to start against Arsenal. His workload is being carefully managed by Maresca. Chelsea had a disrupted pre-season after going all the way in last summer’s Club World Cup. Maresca’s heavy rotation is evidence of a manager thinking about tomorrow as well as today.
For all the restraint, though, it is also true that Chelsea are perfectly capable of beating Arsenal. Cole Palmer is back after two months out and ready to start. Pedro Neto is in fine form in attack, and Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández will match Arsenal’s midfield power.
Maresca said beating Paris Saint-Germain in that Club World Cup final had helped his side’s mentality. He likes that they are spreading the goals around more than last season, when there was too much reliance on Palmer. A deep bench will also give him a multitude of ways to challenge Arsenal’s defensive might.
Will it be enough? Perhaps not yet. Chelsea sometimes lack a clinical edge and Levi Colwill’s absence with a long-term knee injury has affected a defence prone to the odd lapse in concentration. Arsenal are tougher and older. Mikel Arteta has been in his job for nearly six years, Maresca for 18 months. It is inevitable that Arsenal are further along in their development. They have experienced the cut and thrust of a title race on multiple occasions. They know what it means to go the distance. Chelsea are yet to develop the knowhow to tick off wins in mundane fixtures.
They are, of course, capable of rising to the big occasion. Nothing is quite as big as Arsenal’s team of giants, though. Chelsea have become more effective at set pieces but are they ready for those deliveries from Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice? Maybe it will be too tall an order on Sunday. Even then, though, there would be no panic.
