FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Conference League - Chelsea Training - Cobham Training Centre, Cobham, Britain - March 12, 2025 Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca during training Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley/File Photo
(Reuters) - Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed that Robert Sanchez will feature in the starting line-up for their Premier League clash at Arsenal on Sunday, adding that he is hoping not to change his first-choice goalkeeper until the end of the season.
Maresca dropped Sanchez after the Spaniard committed an error that led to a goal in their 3-1 defeat by Manchester City in January, with backup stopper Filip Jorgensen starting four straight Premier League games.
However, Sanchez returned to the lineup for a 1-0 league win over Leicester City last week.
"It will be Robert playing against Arsenal. Since we started, the idea was not to change keepers, but sometimes you have to modify and be flexible with your ideas," Maresca told reporters on Friday.
"We do this in the game plan, we do this the way we want to attack, the way we want to defend, but also we need to be flexible on players. I think Robert needed some days off, or at least some rest mentally.
"Now he's back, hopefully we are not going to change until the end. Also because I said many times, we are quite happy with both keepers."
Chelsea, who are fourth in the league standings with 49 points from 28 matches, trail second-placed Arsenal by six points and will be looking to make up ground with a win.
Asked about the possibility of challenging the north London club for second place, Maresca said: "But they can also be nine points (ahead). At the moment they are six. We are not focused on that.
"We are just focused on how we can do our game, how we can try to beat them and then hopefully we can do that and we can be more close... Yes, it (second place) could be a target for sure.
"It's our duty to do our best, but at the same time I think the target for us right now is Sunday's game, and then game after game to see how we can get closer."
Both sides will be without a recognised striker on Sunday, with winger Pedro Neto expected to lead the line for Chelsea in the absence of injured forward Nicolas Jackson, while Arsenal have played midfielder Mikel Merino up front in recent weeks.
"Yeah, it's quite strange for both, because we have all of them injured, but I think they are trying to find a solution. We are trying to find a solution at the same time," Maresca said.
"Pedro, since we started, is doing, I think, very well in that position. We'll see if Sunday we use Pedro there or we change something.
"All the clubs during the season, they have moments where they have injuries, so they need to adapt, they need to be flexible and try to find a solution."
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
