Maresca nails down goalkeeper spot as Chelsea confront Arsenal

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Robert Sanchez will start in goal for their Premier League showdown against Arsenal on Sunday, emphasizing his preference for consistency between the posts for the remainder of the season.

Sanchez was previously dropped following an error that contributed to Chelsea’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City in January, with backup goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen stepping in for four consecutive league matches. However, the Spanish shot-stopper reclaimed his place in last week’s 1-0 victory over Leicester City.

“It will be Robert playing against Arsenal. Since we started, the idea was not to change keepers, but sometimes you have to modify and be flexible with your ideas,” Maresca told reporters on Friday. “I think Robert needed some days off, or at least some rest mentally. Now he’s back, hopefully we are not going to change until the end. Also because I said many times, we are quite happy with both keepers.”

Chelsea currently sit fourth in the league standings with 49 points from 28 matches, six points behind second-placed Arsenal. When asked about the possibility of closing the gap, Maresca remained focused on the immediate challenge.

“But they can also be nine points (ahead). At the moment they are six. We are not focused on that. We are just focused on how we can do our game, how we can try to beat them and then hopefully we can do that and we can be more close,” he said. “Yes, 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 right now is Sunday’s game, and then game after game to see how we can get closer.”

Both Chelsea and Arsenal are set to play without a traditional striker, with winger Pedro Neto likely to lead the attack for the Blues in the absence of the injured Nicolas Jackson, while Arsenal have used midfielder Mikel Merino in a forward role in recent matches.

“Yeah, it’s quite strange for both, because we have all of them injured, but I think they are trying to find a solution. We are trying to find a solution at the same time,” Maresca said. “Pedro, since we started, is doing, I think, very well in that position. We’ll see if Sunday we use Pedro there or we change something. All the clubs during the season, they have moments where they have injuries, so they need to adapt, they need to be flexible and try to find a solution.”