21 October 2023 , 20:35
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Mikel Arteta was delighted to find Arsenal's dressing room silent rather than celebratory when he returned at the final whistle.
For the visiting supporters, the Gunners’ 2-2 draw will have felt like a win given they were two down with less than 15 minutes of normal time remaining. But the players knew they shouldn’t have been in that position in the first place and that they can't be there many more times if they are going to challenge again for the title.
Arteta said: “The way the team reacted to the second goal is phenomenal from the players on the pitch and the players on the bench thinking, 'How the hell am I going to change this game?' I loved that.
“I really liked as well going into the dressing room and it’s really quiet, after drawing 2-2 with Chelsea and coming back from 2-0 down, because I know that they wanted more. That’s the positive.”
Arsenal's push for perfection was also on display from record signing Declan Rice. The midfielder scored the Gunners' first goal, which saw them kick off their impressive comeback.
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However, he was not fully satisfied with the point. Speaking to Arsenal's official website, he said: “It’s a bitter feeling to be honest, because if we know if we did in the second half what we did in first, we would have won the game.
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“In football, things throw out surprises and in the first half, we weren’t as good as we wanted to be. In the second half, I feel like we showed that character again like we did against Man City, and to get the point in the end was a really important result.
“[Being 2-0 down] is tough, it’s really tough. I think you always want to go into games thinking that you’ll get three points, but from the way we came back from 2-0 down away from home, the Chelsea fans and players were really up for it, we showed that fight and character.
“Even though we didn’t win, there are positives to be taken there. The mentality is there, the belief is there that we don’t want to get beaten, and being the best that we can.”
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, had mixed feelings. He said: “I’m disappointed because we dropped two points but in football it can happen and we need to accept it.
“At the end we’re disappointed, but at the same time I am so happy because we were very competitive and in the circumstances, we need to feel proud of the performance.”