Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Cole Palmer will be available for Sunday’s Premier League showdown with Arsenal, describing the England international as ‘our best player’ ahead of the high-stakes London derby.
Chelsea, sitting second in the table, trail leaders Arsenal by six points after 12 games. Both sides head into the clash in strong form, with the Blues dismantling Barcelona in midweek and Arsenal producing a statement win over Bayern Munich.
Palmer’s comeback is a major boost for Chelsea, who have won just one of their last 11 league meetings with Arsenal.
‘He is available to start and to play,’ Maresca said.
‘Everyone is happy, the team-mates are happy, we are all happy, and the most important thing is Cole is happy because a footballer wants to play games and train every day. He is our best player, we are happy he is back. We need to give him time to be 100% fit, but he has done fantastic in the past and no doubt he will do very good for this club in the future.’
Maresca also hinted at the possibility of Palmer linking up with Brazilian prodigy Estevao Willian. ‘They can play together. It depends on the game plan, but for sure they are excited, the fans are excited,’ he said.
The Chelsea boss acknowledged the threat posed by Arsenal’s set-piece prowess, with Mikel Arteta’s side unbeaten in their last six visits to Stamford Bridge and having lost only three of their last 40 London derbies.
‘They score goals in set-pieces against every team. They have a system in place that works very well and we will try to prepare in the best way,’ Maresca explained.
