Enzo Maresca was close to perfect in his setup and approach for Chelsea as they took on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The Blues picked up a point against Mikel Arteta’s side, and were by far the better team before Moises Caicedo was sent off in the first half.
Chelsea even took the lead through Trevoh Chalobah, however were unable to hold on to what would have been a remarkable three points.
Maresca showed growth in how the Blues dealt with going down to 10 men. The reaction was leaps and bounds from how he responded after Robert Sanchez’s sending off against Manchester United.
Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
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Chelsea fans not impressed by Enzo Maresca subbing off Estevao Willian vs Arsenal
The Italian made the decision to sub off Estevao Willian at half-time, bringing on Alejandro Garnacho as Chelsea targeted attacking on the counter.
Chelsea fans were actually not best pleased with this decision, taking to social media to criticise the substitution.
One user said: “Garnacho for Estevao was one of the most pointless substitutions seen in quite some time.”
Another added: “Taking off Estevao for Garnacho was genuinely so stupid.”
A third claimed: “Estevao threat was keeping us in this match even with 10. Taking him off for Garnacho is incredibly poor.”
Another stated: “We should have left Estevao in this because I don’t understand what Garnacho is doing in this match.”
Finally, one user said: “I can’t find myself liking Garnacho. He provides so little in comparison to Neto or Estevao. I want him to prove me wrong. But pulling Steve for him was a mistake.”
Estevao was not at his best during the first half, spurning arguably Chelsea’s best chance of the game when he blazed a strike over the bar.
Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
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Chelsea closing in on Estevao and Cole Palmer link-up
Since Estevao joined the club, the duo of him and Cole Palmer have not started a game together due to the England international’s injury woes.
Palmer was back on the bench to face Arsenal, however was not utilised as Chelsea did a lot of hard running after going down to 10 men.
The chance is there for Palmer to start the next game against Leeds, and the exciting duo could get their first real opportunity to link up in the Premier League.
A pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen saw glimpses of what is to come, where Palmer’s audacious effort hit the crossbar before being turned home by the Brazilian.