The Seaman Says podcast is usually pretty Arsenal focused (obviously) but the sheer dominance of Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea of the headlines recently has meant that even David Seaman and his guest Martin Keown ended up talking the Blues.
While the rest of the punditry world are trying to put Chelsea in the title race, the Arsenal pair saw it another way.
“No, I wouldn’t say so” Seaman responded when asked if Chelsea were ahead of Arsenal as a team.
“I would say that they’re a team on form, you know, because you wouldn’t have said that at the start of the season. You would have said that they were way behind us.”
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Enzo Maresca after Chelsea's win against Aston Villa (Photo by: Chris Lee - Chelsea FC)
Enzo Maresca applauds the home fans. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Enzo Maresca sits impassively as Chelsea thrash Southampton.
Keown agreed:
“You look at his [Maresca’s], you know, his portfolio, he hasn’t really won anything.”
Well, he won the Championship in his first full season as a manager. It’s not nothing, is it Martin? And by the end of this season, he may have won a couple more things too.
A relaxed Enzo Maresca in his press conference. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
A relaxed Enzo Maresca in his press conference. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)
Legendary Arsenal pair find plenty to like in growing Chelsea force
They weren’t all negative however – both had a lot of very positive things to say about Maresca and the team. How could you not, given the last few weeks?
“Chelsea closed the door a little bit. I’m really impressed with them actually. The way that their managers come in, with Palmer playing off the front, Neto on the wing. There’s a good balance. The way that they play is similar to Man City, they’ve got the same sort of model,” Keown mused.
There’s a long way to go until we’re at the Man City level, but there’s no doubt that there are a lot of familiar elements starting to emerge, and plenty of room still to grow.