Granit Xhaka spoke like a true Arsenal fan after the Gunners beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to retake top spot in the Premier League with just two to play before the World Cup break.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal slides for the ball during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on November 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 06: Granit Xhaka of Arsenal slides for the ball during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on November 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

The final score might have read one-nil to the Arsenal but, in reality, Mikel Arteta’s men battered Chelsea and it was only wayward finishing that allowed them to keep a point in their sights until the final whistle.

Chelsea created zero big chances and finished with five yellows, a tally that certainly should have been higher.

How Marc Cucurella managed to avoid a booking for kicking Bukayo Saka all game will remain a mystery.

Saka, of course, was booked for retaliating with a challenge of his own after Michael Oliver had refused to give him another clear foul. That was the Arsenal man’s third yellow of the season.

Having been kicked all over the pitch in every single game this season, only one yellow has been issued for fouls on Saka. He is absolutely refereed differently.

In the end, he was the difference maker, however.

His corner, which skipped through at least three Chelsea defenders, was heading in before Gabriel made sure from less than a yard out.

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 06: Mikel Arteta celebrates with Thomas Partey of Arsenal after their sides victory during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on November 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 06: Mikel Arteta celebrates with Thomas Partey of Arsenal after their sides victory during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC at Stamford Bridge on November 06, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

It always pays to make sure against Chelsea.

After the game, Granit Xhaka was snagged by the BT cameras and, in the excitement of having just beaten Chelsea and in front of the Arsenal fans, he said, “We see the atmosphere here, it is f**king unbelievable.”

There was then a slight delay as BT Sport recovered before Xhaka continued, “Yeah, you can see the atmosphere is unbelievable, from the start until the end, I think we deserved to win today.

“We were much, much the better team today. We are so happy that everything is going well at the moment. We are keeping everything that the coaches are telling us and these are the results.”

Asked about grinding out those results, he said, “Listen, after the season, nobody asks you how you win in November, December or January. We are trying to get a lot of points as possible and after we’ll see where we win.

“Of course [emotions run high in a London derby], these two teams have big history, even if they play against each other. This is football, sometimes stuff like that happens.”

Finally, he was asked about City’s rather fortunate win on Saturday to which Xhaka replied, “Yeah, a little bit lucky for them. But if you play over 60 minutes with one less, then you deserve to win.”