ENZO'S POT OF GOLD

Maresca gets the jump on Gunners

- by JOHN CROSS

CHELSEA have won the Champions League bragging rights over London rivals Arsenal because of their European Conference success last season.

In a bizarre twist, Enzo Maresca’s team have been handed a place in pot one as a top seed even though they only finished fourth in the Premier League.

And that is sure to irk Gunners fans, whose team went further in Europe’s premier competition than any other English club - the quarter final - and were runners-up in the league.

That's because the top seeds in the competition are based on UEFA club coefficients which are dictated by recent European success, no matter which competition it comes in.

So out of the record six English clubs that qualified, World Club Cup Champions Chelsea will sit at the top alongside 2023 Champions League winners Manchester City and Premier League champions Liverpool.