Mikel Arteta declared Arsenal's comeback victory over Chelsea an "exceptional performance" and warned that his side is capable of reaching even greater heights this season. The Gunners recovered from conceding their first goal of the campaign to win 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, moving level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
Morgan Rogers had given Chelsea an early lead, but Kai Havertz equalised before setting up Martin Ødegaard for the winner. The result means Arsenal and Manchester City are the only teams with three wins from their opening three league matches, a statistic Arteta believes highlights the increased difficulty of this season's title race.
Arteta praises team's response and Ødegaard's resurgence
Speaking after the match, Arteta said: "It was an exceptional performance. I enjoyed every minute from beginning to end, and the beginning was tough. But the team responded in a spectacular way – the conviction, the determination, the quality. It was beautiful. It was a fascinating game."
He added: "I think it's an indication for us of how we are capable of performing at an even higher level than last season. It depends on how we maintain and sustain that desire, that humbleness, and continue every day to try to find a better version of myself and the team. We still have a lot to grow and a lot to offer. This is the ambition of the team."
Arteta singled out Ødegaard for particular praise, noting the captain's confidence is at its highest since he arrived. The Norwegian has scored three goals in four games this season after two years plagued by injury. "He feels, confidence-wise, I think one of the highest that I've seen him," Arteta said. "He has a point to prove from last season as well, missing so much football. Kai is the same. I don't know how many times they played together in the last three years but probably not much. He is enjoying his football. He was running forward, having shots, creating for his teammates."
Alonso admits Chelsea need to be 'tighter' after first defeat
On the other side, Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso acknowledged his team's defensive frailties after their first loss of the season. The Blues have conceded seven goals in their first three league games and have not kept a clean sheet in their last 19 league matches.
"My priority is to win games and it's easier when you don't concede many," Alonso said. "This is something that we need to address. We want to be tighter, to be more clinical, more balanced. But this takes time."
He added: "We wanted to compete, we came to win. We were not that far, but it went their way. We could have scored to make it 2-1 and you never know what happens. But the result is the result, I'm not fighting against that. It hurts. But this is the first defeat, it is going to be a long journey and it doesn't have a big impact in our mood."
Alonso defended his approach, insisting he would not set his team up defensively. "I want to compete in the best possible way to win. Today we didn't want to sit deep from the first minute and to wait and to make a long game. We wanted to be active, we wanted to be protagonists in the pressing, sometimes to go higher, sometimes lower, to have good possessions. And we have done many right things. We need to make it better."
Caicedo fitness uncertain ahead of Leeds cup tie
Alonso also provided an update on Moisés Caicedo, who missed the match with injury. The midfielder has yet to start a game this season, and his availability for Wednesday's Carabao Cup tie against Leeds is uncertain. "It's about assessing the risk," Alonso said. "Probably last week we took him on too early and I don't want to make the same mistake again."
Arteta, meanwhile, confirmed he hopes Cristhian Mosquera will recover quickly from a muscle problem. He was also full of praise for Havertz, who impressed against his former club. "He looks settled, he looks happy, in his personal life some great things have happened," Arteta said. "He looks fit, he looks happy and he is scoring goals."
Arsenal now turn their attention to a trip to Sunderland, where Arteta expects another tough test. "It is going to be super hard, the margins you win games," he said. "We went to Villa Park a few days ago and it was really tough. Today again. We'll go to Sunderland and it'll again be so, so tough. We know every week is going to be like this but that's what we prepare for."
