Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta praised his team's indomitable and belligerent spirit in the Premier League match against Chelsea on Matchday 9.
"In the first 10-15 minutes, we didn't match the level of intensity we need in a London derby. We didn't have enough purpose with the ball, we didn't have enough determination to win the ball. We paid the price for that by having to defend in space, against one of the best teams in the space game.
After that, we started to change some things and we started to increase our control of the game. But in the second half, our focus was different, our intensity was different, we started winning the duels, we started playing forward, we started playing with a knife in our teeth, and the game changed.
And although we conceded a goal from Mudryk in that situation, we continued to do exactly what we asked the players to do: never give up and try, try, try. We should have scored a goal earlier, we didn't, but this team always fights to the end. In the end, we got a point after a very difficult start to the match," Arsenal's official website quoted Arteta as saying.