Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has praised his side’s character after they came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in Sunday’s Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium, while Chelsea boss, Xabi Alonso, urged his players to learn from the painful defeat.
Chelsea stunned the home crowd when Morgan Rogers opened the scoring just 77 seconds into the game, but Arsenal responded strongly, with Kai Havertz equalising before Martin Odegaard completed the comeback to maintain the Gunners’ perfect start to the league campaign.
Arsenal have now won all three of their opening Premier League matches, while Chelsea have conceded seven goals in their first three games under Alonso.
Reflecting on the victory, Arteta described Arsenal’s performance as “exceptional” and praised the way his players responded after falling behind early.
“It wasn’t the right start but we certainly reacted in an amazing way. I enjoyed the way we competed. We took risks, it was a joy to watch,” Arteta said.
“Chelsea have a great coach who can set them up in great condition. We constrained them well. Overall, it was an incredible performance.
“We are very happy and we need to continue to raise the bar and look to improve every single time. We need to enjoy the victory because it was a big one today.”
The Arsenal boss also expressed confidence that his team can improve on last season’s performance, insisting there is still plenty of room for growth.
“I think it’s an indication for us that we’re capable of performing even higher than we did last season,” he said.
“It depends on whether we maintain that desire, that humility, and continue every day to find a greater version of myself and the team. We still have a lot to grow and a lot to offer, and that’s the ambition of the team.”
Arteta also singled out Odegaard for praise after the Arsenal captain produced another influential display and scored the decisive goal.
“I think he is enjoying his football. His personal life is settled, he is available, he is training, he has his routine and if he is intelligent, he can take a lot of benefits from the players around him. He was outstanding today,” Arteta said.
For Alonso, the defeat was a painful lesson for a Chelsea side still adapting to his methods.
“It hurts because a defeat has to hurt. It was a very intense game. We had chances to equalise,” Alonso said.
He admitted Chelsea struggled to control the game after taking the lead and felt his side could have defended better for Arsenal’s winning goal.
“After we scored, there were 15 or 20 minutes where we had to defend too much and we were struggling a bit to get control. Overall, it was a very tight, very intense game.
“We could do better with the second goal. You need to control the overloads on the right side.”
Despite the setback, Alonso urged his players to remain focused on the bigger picture, describing Chelsea’s development as a process.
“I learnt about the game, about us, about what we are doing, what we are starting. This is a process. It’s still early days for us,” he said.
“We want to start having clean-sheets. They will come. The players are committed to working hard, to knowing that we’re on the way to compete in each game.
“Not happy that we couldn’t get anything but we need to keep calm and carry on.”
Alonso added that his players remain determined to improve as Chelsea continue their campaign.
“The players have this attitude, this desire to compete better game by game to create something we believe in,” he said.
“It’s game three and this is going to be a long, long ride.”