Arsenal Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny: 'I Take My Hat Off to Brilliant Chelsea'

Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has heaped praise "brilliant" Chelsea after their 2-0 defeat to the Blues in the London derby on Sunday 5 October, claiming Jose Mourinho's side are the favourites to win the Premier League.

Even though it was a balanced game, Eden Hazard scored the opener with a penalty in the first half following a great solo run, while Diego Costa killed the game with 10 minutes left on the clock to beat the Gunners.

Szczesny expressed his disappointment about the defeat and admitted it was difficult to take a positive result from Stamford Bridge.

"I thought it was a very even game. But Chelsea have an ability to keep clean sheets at home and I thought they were very good, they took their chances with two brilliant moments," the Arsenal number one 'keeper said to the club's official website.

"One, the brilliant run from Hazard that led to the penalty. On the second goal, the ball from Cesc and the finish. Sometimes you've got to take your hat off to the brilliance of the opposition."

Chelsea continued their almost perfect start to the campaign at the weekend, with six victories and one draw from seven matches, leaving the Gunners nine points behind them in the Premier League table.

Even though Szczesny expects Arsenal to improve in the coming games after the international break, he tips the west London rivals as the biggest favourites to win the league.

"We've had a tough run so far. But I'd like to think that our start has been solid, not as good as we expected from ourselves, but I believe that after the international break we can push on and get more points," he said.

"You can't say we've played badly against Chelsea, it's just that we've come up against a very strong side, probably the favourites to win the Premier League at this point."