Enzo Maresca has admitted he’s happy with a draw after Chelsea came from behind to peg back Arsenal on Sunday.
The Gunners went ahead through Gabriel Martinelli, with the Brazil international beating Robert Sanchez from a tight angle.
But Chelsea came roaring back, with Pedro Neto scoring a brilliant equaliser to earn a draw.
The two rivals are level on points, with 19 each to their name. And Maresca, speaking to the BBC, has admitted he’s happy with the result.
Chelsea news: Enzo Maresca has opened up after his side’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal
PA
“I enjoyed it, absolutely,” he said. “The performance was good. We know them quite well and we competed pretty well.
“The performance is very important for us in this moment and it was good. We can rest now and go again.
“The performance from Pedro [Neto] was very good, all of them, complete.
“We played in the way we wanted to, brave, and try and play from the back always.”
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On his side competing with Arsenal, he continued: “It is the way we want to do the things.
“We try and play face to face against every team. We are Chelsea, so it is important to send this message.
“There are managers that have been clubs for five and nine years so we are behind them.”
Neto also spoke out after the game.
And the Chelsea star was left frustrated by their failure to win, saying: “We wanted to win, but we knew we had hard work in front of us because they are a good team.
“We came to win, so we’re not as happy as we wanted to be, but we didn’t want to lose and it’s a good point against a good team.
“We read the game well. We had moments we could have been better but we’ve done a good job and we want to keep improving at this level.
“I am really happy to help the team. This is a group that works really hard each day.
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Pedro Neto struck to earn a draw for Chelsea against Arsenal
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“I work every day to improve, I’m trying to improve and go to my best level.”
Marc Cucurella, who was named player of the match, added: “It was a tough game.
“They’ve played together with the same ideas for a long time but we played well.
“We need to keep going in this way, we are doing well. We need to stay in this way and push more.
Chelsea fell behind against Arsenal when Gabriel Martinelli put the Gunners ahead in the 60th minute
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“Bukayo Saka is a top player. We’ve played a lot of times against each other, there is huge respect there. It is a good battle and hopefully we can have more.
“I try to not give him space and always be close to him. We knew he is a special talent and do my work and help my team. I tried to show the best of me.”