Graham Potter admits Arsenal ‘deserved to win’ during a 1-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge that keeps Mikel Arteta’s side at the top of the Premier League table, speaking to the Chelsea official website while highlighting the Gunners defensive resolve and high-pressing style.
Even the most blue-blooded Chelsea supporter would have to agree, albeit begrudgingly, with Potter’s assessment.
There was one team in West London on Sunday afternoon that looked secure in their skin, confident in their game-plan. Resilient at the back and creative in attack. The other, you may have worked out, was Chelsea.
“We played against a team in a really good moment and a confident team. Credit to them,” says the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss; Gabriel Magalhaes’ 63rd minute tap-in from a devilish Bukayo Saka corner ensuring that the Gunners have now won 11 out of a potential 13 league games thus far.
“Overall, Arsenal deserved to win. The goal is disappointing and over the course of the game, we don’t have too many complaints at the result.”
Arsenal outplay and outscore Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
If there were any lingering doubts about whether Arsenal can really be considered title challengers, a commanding display at the home of one of their biggest rivals should dispel those as emphatically as a William Saliba shoulder barge.
The gap between Arsenal and Chelsea, meanwhile, now stands at 13 points.
“We have to look at where the two teams are at. Arsenal are in a good moment and have worked together for a long time. We’re in different phase,” the Blues boss adds.
“We lacked quality but the effort was there and we were beaten by the better team today. We huffed and puffed. But you could see the difference between the two teams in terms of confidence, structure and (how they) work together.”
Title challengers?
If Gabriel Jesus had brought his shooting boots to Stamford Bridge, Arsenal could and perhaps would have had the three points in the bag long before Gabriel stabbed home from point-blank range. The Brazilian centre-back was colossal at the other end of the pitch too, his burgeoning partnership with the outstanding Saliba restricting Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to a watching brief against his old employers.
“Arsenal defend well, they press well and make it difficult for you to create chances,” Potter points out. “We need to do better in terms of how we create our chances.
“We had some three v threes or four v fours in the final third but lacked that last pass, and then if I’m looking at how we build our attacks generally we’re not as fluid as I’d like us to be. There’s lots of reasons for that but clearly that’s where we have to improve as well.”
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