Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta put questionable praise on Chelsea following Sunday’s London derby between the sides, which he may have hoped made his team’s win look better.
The Gunners went into the game having taken just two points from the previous nine on offer to fall as many as 15 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool.
With Nottingham Forest moving to within one point of Arsenal on Saturday and Chelsea in with a chance of closing the gap to three had they won at the Emirates Stadium, it was critical for Arteta’s side to get a confidence-boosting victory.
They did exactly that thanks to a solitary first half header from stand-in striker Mikel Merino. Overall, the game lacked quality from either side and it was more than a little bizarre to hear what Arteta said about Chelsea afterwards.
“I think we deserved to win the match,” the Arsenal boss told BBC Sport.
“I think we were the better team. We didn’t concede any [chances] apart from the strange save from David [Raya] in the first half against a team that, in my opinion is the best attacking team in the league – in the way they set up, the patterns that they have and the quality that they have.”
It’s that characterisation of Chelsea as the best the Premier League has to offer that may raise some eyebrows. The Blues have scored 53 league goals so far this season, now the same output of Arsenal. It’s certainly a good return, but Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City (both 55) have scored more often, while Liverpool have racked up a division-high 69.
Chelsea were also fielding a second string attack in this game, forced to play without arguably their three best and most reliable forwards: Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke.
Asked why Arsenal couldn’t make more of their overall dominance, Arteta put it down to a “lack of fortune, lack of the final pass and the right decision when the situation was so open.
“We had so many of them, but unfortunately we didn’t finish them. International break…let’s have a breathe and bring some players back, ideally,” he said, referencing the ongoing injury absence of talisman Bukayo Saka in particular.
