Chelsea boss Maresca announces Palmer is availability for Arsenal clash

Cole Palmer is ready to start against Arsenal on Sunday - over two months since his last appearance.

Enzo Maresca today announced a surprise update on Palmer, 23, who he had previously ruled out of facing Barcelona or Arsenal with a broken toe - coming after an absence with a chronic groin injury.

The forward has spent 10 weeks on the sidelines with a reoccurring groin problem, returning to action later than originally planned following an accident at home where he broke his toe.

Palmer has not completed 90 minutes since September 17, scoring in a 3-1 Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich, and has only managed two Premier League starts all season.

"He is available for both," Maresca said, when asked if Palmer would feature on Sunday and if he were available from the start.

"Good news for both. Everyone is happy, team-mates are happy [he is back]. The most important thing is that Cole is happy. Football players want to play games."

Speaking about the prospect of Palmer linking with Estevao, a scorer in Tuesday's statement 3-0 win over Barcelona, Maresca added: "They can player together. Depends against which team, and the game plan. But for sure they are excited, the fans are excited to watch both together.

"We're excited but we always need balance between the two phases."

Chelsea have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games against Arsenal, and are winless in seven, a run dating back to August 2021.

Sunday's meeting marks just the fifth time the Gunners have faced Chelsea - six points behind in second - while top of the Premier League table. Asked what impact the outcome might have on the title race, Maresca said: "It's too early, in any case.

"If we win, if we don't win, it's too early. We are in November, we have six months to go. It's very important where we are in February and March and from there we decide and we see if we can achieve something important."

Questioned on Chelsea's improving resilience in big games, he added: "It's different to one year ago, because we spend one more year together and went through moments where we learn. For me, it's very early. It's important to be where we are now in April and then we will see.

"These players show many times they can beat teams. We compete always, then sometimes we win and sometimes we're not able. We're in the right direction."