Enzo Maresca told minimum Chelsea expectation as Joe Cole reveals brutal Arsenal truth

Joe Cole believes Chelsea's squad is not strong enough to compete with Arsenal at this current time. The Gunners sit top of the Premier League and are bidding to win their first piece of silverware since 2020.

Mikel Arteta has helped transform the north Londoners into genuine contenders in recent years and the summer transfer window, which saw the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze arrive at Emirates Stadium, has only strengthened the side further.

Chelsea have had success under Enzo Maresca, however, with the Italian winning both the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup in his first season in charge. The Blues still struggle for consistency, however, and are perhaps a couple of years behind Arsenal in their journey for success.

• Enzo Maresca told three Chelsea players could be crucial against Tottenham
• Chelsea star's response to Enzo Maresca's furious Liam Delap rant

Speaking exclusively to Paddy Power, Cole believes his former side should look to qualify for the Champions League yet again this season before looking to mount a serious league challenge. “This is season four under this ownership," he said.

"There are two trophies, albeit new trophies that don't carry the same weight as a Premier League, an FA Cup, a Champions League, or even a League Cup. But they have delivered trophies, and they've restructured the whole club financially.

“This season, the expectation has to be for Chelsea to comfortably get into the Champions League position and mount a challenge in the league. I don't think the squad's strong enough to compete with Arsenal. I'm happy to go on record saying that now, they won't win the league.

“Chelsea needs to be comfortably in the Champions League and closer to the top of the league than they were last year for this season to be considered a success. And next season, they have to be winning the big trophies, because that would be five seasons into this project.

“You have to go with the owners, this is what they are, this is the restructuring of the club. Whether you like it or not, this is where it is at. I try and explain it with my best knowledge of how football clubs work, reading between the lines, because obviously the owners can't come out and go, ‘listen, we're not going gung-ho like we did before, trying to win these big trophies, because we've got to fit within a financial model.’

"They're not going to say that, because it's not a good soundbite. From what I understand, that's what they've had to do, and the club wasn’t in a great position financially, so they've had to be a bit more clever with how they operate.”