Credit to Chelsea — Arsenal's Arteta praises Blues's performance in London Derby draw

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has praised Chelsea’s effort against his team in their Saturday evening London derby clash.

The Blues started brilliantly and took a 2-0 lead; however, Arteta rallied his troops and they fought from behind to draw the game 2-2 and earn a point.

The Spaniard conceded that his team started the game poorly but praised their host’s performance.

"It's mixed feelings. Credit to Chelsea for the way they set up,” he said, per the BBC.

You have to expect that. We were below par in very basic things; we didn't play with enough purpose with the ball and we were soft in some situations. We allowed them to run, which is a really dangerous thing to do.

He went on to give credit to his own players for their mentality and change in intensity that enabled them to come back to earn a point.

"We tweaked things and played the second half with a different intensity. We were more of a threat and we should have scored a goal earlier. We scored two brilliant goals, which gave us a point but we wanted more.

"When you're 2-0 down against Chelsea, you can drop your head and start to blame each other. But the team never did that; they believed they could do it [get back in the game]."

As Pulse Sports reported, Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino has attested that Ukrainian forward Mhykaylo Mudryk had intent for his ridiculous strike that ended up as a goal for Chelsea against Arsenal.

The 21-year-old striker, with his left foot from the right flank, caught David Raya out of his goal and doubled Chelsea's lead on the day.

The angle of the strike, however, generated doubt over the intent of the attempt, with many believing Mudryk intended to deliver a cross to the back post for Raheem Sterling, but Chelsea’s Argentine boss, Pochettino, dismisses the notion.