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The Chelsea manager has expressed his belief that the club is currently unable to compete on the level of Manchester City and Arsenal this season.
Despite a promising start, with seven wins in 10 matches and a rise to fourth place in the Premier League, Maresca has urged caution about his team's prospects.
Maresca calls for reduced expectation
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Speaking after the Blues’ 4-2 victory over Gent in the Europa Conference League on Thursday, the former Leicester boss highlighted the reasons his side need more time to compete on the level of the Premier League’s top-two teams.
"I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.
"The reason is that they have had the same manager for a long time, which gives them a significant advantage."
Maresca pointed to the statement made by PSG manager Luis Enrique after the French side lost to the Gunners in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
“After Arsenal beat PSG they asked Luis Enrique and he said the same thing that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and them only a year and a half.
"Imagine us, only three months… so it’s a huge difference. So I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."
Chelsea has made significant investments in recent years, spending over £1.5bn across the last five transfer windows. However, Maresca believes that time and patience are essential for the club to reach its full potential.
"The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs, but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.
"There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always."
Chelsea will host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, and the aim will be to extend their unbeaten run while staying within the top four.
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