New Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca endured his first press conference as manager with Arsenal naturally becoming a talking point
16:00, 24 Jul 2026
Enzo Maresca took his first press conference after being unveiled as Manchester City’s new manager. The Italian takes over from Pep Guardiola and will lock horns with Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta in next season’s title race.
The Gunners go into the bout as champions but despite the new look at the Etihad Stadium, they will no doubt take little time in trying to oust Arsenal from their thrown. Arsenal themselves will know the challenge that awaits having already seen Maresca reinforced with a £116million signing of Elliot Anderson.
In the press conference, there was plenty of focus on the job at hand and taking over from Guardiola. However, there were some references to Arsenal, three in fact, that Maresca made.
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Longevity
Arteta has become the longest serving manager in the Premier League with Guardiola’s exit and also the only coach with a Premier League winner’s medal of all 20 clubs. Maresca will be aiming to get one of his own in his new club.
However, the longevity of managers was mentioned, and Maresca looked across Manchester for reference. However, he also mentioned another coach who is no stranger to Arsenal supporters.
“The history of the manager with many years in the same club, always struggles a little bit, after Sir Alex [Ferguson], after Arsene [Wenger],” he said. “But it’s also a challenge to do the right things for this organisation.”
Community Shield
Maresca’s first official match after pre-season will come against Arsenal. Many of both sets of players will have only just returned when the bout in Cardiff arrives on August 16.
Maresca was asked for an update. It was clear that while plenty will be available, including many youngsters, Maresca realises both his and Arteta’s teams will be limited.
“The last group of players will join us three, four days before the FA Community Shield final, and since then, we will have the whole squad here. I am working with many young players, that’s always good.”
Set-pieces
One of the main weapons Arsenal used to take the Premier League crown was their effectiveness from set pieces. This drew plenty of scrutiny from pundits and the media and it was perhaps no surprise to see Maresca asked about it.
He admitted that this was indeed the way the sport was evolving. Could it be that not only will we see City better equipped to deal with this but take on the strategies themselves?
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“Set pieces and man-to-man, it’s the direction where football is going,” Maresca said. “But at the end, we are managers, we are in charge, we have the responsibility for that, and it’s our duty to find the solution.”