Common practice says you should lend no credence to the Premier League table until at least 10 game have passed. Only then is there a sample size worthy of painting a picture, and quite the pretty one it was for Enzo Maresca this week as Chelsea topped the London pile.
Much prettier than it was for Mauricio Pochettino at the same stage last season when, points wise, the table showed there was nobody worse among the seven clubs who call the capital their home.
It would be doing a disservice to other influential individuals to wholly credit Maresca for Chelsea’s strong start – the 44-year-old Italian entered into an already existing structure – but he is at the heart of an operation looking to make sure Arsenal do not take over as London’s first and finest on Sunday.