Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matić has claimed that the Blues wanted the win more than the Gunners.

The Serbian has gone through a poor patch of form so far this season but was on the winning side last weekend, with Chelsea controversially beating Arsène Wenger’s side 2-0.

“We wanted to win more than them,” Matić told Chelsea TV.

“It was a very important three points for us, especially against them.”

The Blues were given the upper hand when Gabriel was sent off just before half-time, yet Diego Costa controversially remained on the pitch. On the face of it, Matić’s comments are ridiculous.

With 11 men on both sides the score was 0-0 and the game was extremely tight. Even down to 10, and later nine, men Arsenal defended well to restrict the Blues to goals from a set-piece and a healthy deflection.

Ultimately, the win came thanks to attrition against a side with fewer players.

“We didn’t start the season very well so it was very important to win these two games – Champions League against Maccabi (Tel Aviv) and the derby against Arsenal.

“We didn’t concede one goal and we scored six. We have to continue to play like this, especially the next game – it’s going to be very important for us.”

If Chelsea are really eager to boast about not conceding against a side from Israel and a depleted Arsenal then that’s all well and good. Their form is horrible and they needed a huge amount of luck and bad refereeing to take all three points from us on Saturday.

That can’t continue all the time and, in such poor form, they’re bound to continue dropping points.