Wojciech Szczesny has heaped praise on Chelsea following their victory over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Blues maintained their five-point lead on the rest of the Premier League by defeating the Gunners 2-0 thanks to a first-half penalty from Eden Hazard and a ninth league goal from summer signing Diego Costa.
In the wake of the defeat, which was Arsenal's first of the season, goalkeeper Szczesny felt he and his teammates performed at a reasonable level only to be beaten by a more formidable outfit.
"I thought it was a very even game," he told the club's official website. "But Chelsea have an ability to keep clean sheets at home and I thought they were very good, they took their chances with two brilliant moments.
"One, the brilliant run from Hazard that led to the penalty. On the second goal, the ball from Cesc (Fabregas) and the finish (from Costa).
"Sometimes you've got to take your hat off to the brilliance of the opposition."
On the Gunners' beginning to the season, which has seen Arsene Wenger's men win twice and draw four times, Szczesny added: "We've had a tough run so far.
"But I'd like to think that our start has been solid, not as good as we expected from ourselves but I believe that, after the international break, we can push on and get more points.
"You can't say we've played badly against Chelsea, it's just that we've come up against a very strong side, probably the favourites to win the Premier League at this point."
