Enzo Maresca says Chelsea man was absolutely ‘fantastic’ off the bench vs Arsenal

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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca had a number of tough calls to make when it came to choosing his side for the big game yesterday against Arsenal.

He elected to bench club captain Reece James, allowing Moises Caicedo to take the armband for the second time in his Blues career.

Caicedo wowed Chelsea fans with his performance as he continues his rapid rise to being one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.

He was joined in the middle of the park by Romeo Lavia, who again was given the nod in a big league game from the start.

Enzo Maresca impressed by ‘fantastic’ Enzo Fernandez

This saw Enzo Fernandez drop to the bench, despite his three assists in 45 minutes in the Conference League in the week.

There was another assist for the World Cup winner yesterday, as he teed up Pedro Neto’s first Premier League goal for the club.

Maresca stated after the game that he was so pleased with what he saw from the Argentine after he brought him on to help bring his side back into the game.

He said to Sky Sports: “Enzo completely deserved to play, even from the start, but for tactical decision he didn’t play. When he came on, he was fantastic.”

Maresca has big call to make between Fernandez and Romeo Lavia

Fernandez certainly proved a point to the manager in Europe this week, and will now go into the international break on a real high as far as his performances are concerned.

Chelsea will now take on some of the teams lower in the Premier League table as they look to solidify their place in the top four.

Fernandez meanwhile will be hoping to keep up his individual upturn in form as he heads off to represent Argentina.

Maresca no doubt has a tough call to make now about who would be best to partner Caicedo in the middle of the park, with the Ecuador international simply undroppable right now.