Mikel Arteta described Chelsea as the ‘best attacking team in the Premier League’ after Arsenal’s narrow victory at the Emirates Stadium.
In a low-key affair, Mikel Merino’s first-half header fired Arsenal to a 1-0 win over Chelsea on Sunday.
Chelsea created little of note, clearly impacted by the absence of Cole Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke.
Despite Chelsea’s toothless display, the Blues were hailed as the ‘best attacking team in the league’ by Arsenal boss Arteta.
‘I’m very happy, obviously, with the result and with big parts of the performance,’ Arteta said after Arsenal cut Liverpool’s lead at the top of the Premier League to 12 points.
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‘We had a lot of chances and then we concede almost nothing apart from a strange save from David [Raya].
‘That’s huge credit to the team because in my opinion Chelsea are the best attacking team in the league.’
Asked to clarify his somewhat strange claim, Arteta added: ‘In open play, yes. By a mile. The stats say it and everything that I’ve seen says it.
‘They can open you up, they have individual quality, they can go in behind, they go from both sides and they are missing some big players. I have a lot of data and I see how they play.’
Chelsea are currently fourth in the Premier League, nine points behind second-placed Arsenal and 21 points adrift of leaders Liverpool.
Enzo Maresca’s side have scored 53 goals this season, the same amount as Arsenal but fewer than Manchester City and Liverpool.
Given his stance, Arteta was asked whether he expected Chelsea to be a major force in the Premier League next season.
‘Yes,’ he replied. ‘Having the injuries has not helped them but the manager is really good and the squad and the players, the quality is there.’
Turning his attentions back to his own team, Arteta said: ‘We should have done much more but we are very happy and it was an important game.
‘We play a top opponent and the team played with an unbelievable spirit and now we go to the international break.
‘The only thing we can do is try to win our matches. If we do, we are in a better position.’
On the performance of makeshift striker Merino, the Gunners boss said: ‘We have had top players out for many many months. Our team has an incredible resilience.
‘Mikel really wants to do well, he has never played that position before but he is scoring goals. He is a really dangerous player in the box and he can help us.’
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