Chelsea's Cole Palmer is on the verge of a return to full fitness and could feature in the Sunday showdown with Arsenal, revealed Blues head coach Enzo Maresca.
The English midfielder watched his team's Conference League triumph from the Stamford Bridge stands on Thursday, looks to have shaken off the knee woes that followed his outing against Manchester United.
With the player making promising recovery steps, Maresca shared an optimistic outlook for Palmer's potential involvement. "He’s getting better," the Italian commented. "(Just because) he can walk and have dinner it doesn’t mean he is completely fit but we still have two days to prepare the game."
He added: "Hopefully we can have him for the session at least Saturday and then we’ll take a decision."
Palmer has been the linchpin in Maresca's tactics as Chelsea enjoyed a spirited start to the season under his watch, claiming five victories in their first 10 Premier League games.
As they gear up to face Mikel Arteta’s squad, the Chelsea side sits ahead in the rankings, eyeing a top-three spot while distancing themselves from the previous season’s silver medallists.
Despite this, Maresca maintains a cautious stance about their title prospects, especially in light of stiff competition from last year's foremost contenders Arsenal, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
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However, Chelsea's narrow defeat at Anfield – a match they largely dictated – signals the start of a promising era under Maresca's leadership.
Enzo Maresca, opening up about his managerial philosophy and Arsenal's recent performances, has remained consistent in his approach: "Since we started I’ve said the same," Maresca professed. "I analyse the results but first of all I analyse the performance. Do you think we deserved to lose against Liverpool? Me neither, but that’s football."
He remains optimistic about the upcoming clash, asserting: "Hopefully we can win Sunday, win that kind of game, but in the Premier League it’s difficult to win against any team. If I could decide, I would like to win against Arsenal on Sunday, but also Liverpool away the performance was very good and we didn’t deserve to lose."
Reflecting on the teams' competitiveness, he added: "The good thing is that we are there. You cannot see a big difference (between the teams) when we play these kinds of games and this is the most important thing.
"I don’t know if it will be Sunday or the next game, but for sure we are going to win these kinds of games, no doubt."
Looking ahead to the highly anticipated confrontation with Arsenal led by Arteta, Maresca acknowledged his developmental journey alongside one of football's finest minds. "I learned many things from Pep (Guardiola)," he said. "If I’m here today it’s because probably of the amount I was lucky to learn next to him."
He also recognised the parallel paths he shares with Arteta, adding: "Mikel also has his own ideas. Probably we both have to be thankful because we worked beside the one that I consider the best manager in the world. We’ve both been quite lucky to work with Pep."
