The Gunners claimed all three points at Stamford Bridge in what Potter described as a fair result following Gabriel Magalhaes' close-range finish just after the hour mark, one of only three shots on target in the match.

Chelsea struggled to sustain pressure or fashion clear-cut opportunities, with Potter pointing to an opponent benefiting from momentum and cohesion.

‘We played against a team in a really good moment and a confident team, so credit to them,' reflected Potter shortly after the final whistle.

'The boys gave everything. We got into a few situations into the box but we missed that last little bit and overall Arsenal deserved to win. The goal is disappointing and over the course of the game, we don’t have too many complaints at the result.

'We have to look at where the two teams are at. Arsenal are in a good moment and have worked together for a long time. We’re in different phase.

'We lacked quality but the effort was there and we were beaten by the better team today. ‘We huffed and puffed but you could see the difference between the two teams in terms of confidence, structure and work together.

'We’re not in a fantastic moment as we speak and in the end Arsenal deserved to win because they were the better team overall. We have to take that and use it as motivation to improve.’

There was an update on Ben Chilwell following news of his hamstring injury this weekend...

‘He’s disappointed, as you can imagine. It’s a blow to him that he’s going to miss the World Cup, which is bad news for any players. There’s no timescale [on his return]. We just have to help him get fit and be strong.

‘We have to look after him, as we do all our players. We’ve tried to manage Ben in terms of the games he’s had and not playing him too often, making sure the progression is there, so in the end it’s a blow for him and for us.’

Potter was asked about his decision to play individuals like Mason Mount in midweek…

‘When I speak to Mason, he likes to play and be in a rhythm of playing games. You can always reflect after the event and make a different decision but Mason likes to play and get in that rhythm.’

Finally, there was reflection on the limited numbers of chances created in the game…

‘Arsenal defend well, they press well and make it difficult for you to create chances. We need to do better in terms of how we create our chances.

‘We had some three v threes or four v fours in the final third but lacked that last pass, and then if I’m looking at how we build our attacks generally we’re not as fluid as I’d like us to be. There’s lots of reasons for that but clearly that’s where we have to improve as well.’