Mikel Arteta: Arsenal 'back to best' after easing past Chelsea to return to top spot

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes the "team is back to its best" after easing past rivals Chelsea on Tuesday night to return to the top of the Premier League.

Arsenal blew hapless Chelsea away inside the first 34 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, captain Martin Odegaard scoring twice before striker Gabriel Jesus made it 3-0. Noni Madueke pulled one back for the visitors in the second half but victory had long appeared assured for the Gunners.

The victory moves Arsenal back to the league summit by two points, although second-placed Manchester City have two games in hand and can reclaim top spot with a win at home against West Ham United on Thursday night.

In addition to three valuable points, the result saw Arsenal end a run of four games without a win as three successive draws and a heavy defeat last time out to City handed Pep Guardiola's side the advantage in the title race.

“We wanted to have a very different approach to the game, and we did it right from the beginning,” Arteta said. “The team is back to its best. There was a lot of energy, determination, quality, movement, and we were really going for it. We connected with our crowd straight away, we scored two magnificent goals, got control of the game and fully deserved to win.

“We wanted to prove we had that fire in the belly. I could see that in the last few days, and we prepared the game well. Mentally we arrived in the right mood and with the right level of energy. Everything went for us as well, which is important.

“We’ve had a couple of difficult weeks with very different games with a lot of emotions involved. Today we’re back to the top of the league – let’s see what happens.”

Arteta reserved special praise for Odegaard following his brace which took the