Reece James delivers verdict on Arsenal after Gunners beat Chelsea

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Reece James has told BBC Sport’s coverage of Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal that the Blues only have themselves to loss – before delivering a short verdict on Mikel Arteta’s side, claiming they are hard to break down.

Arsenal, who have been criticised for much of the season and more so in recent weeks following their exit from the Europa League semi-final, have now picked up two consecutive Premier League wins in the space of 48 hours.

Emile Smith-Rowe scored his first Premier League goal of his career on Sunday during a 3-1 win over West Brom, and made it two in two on Tuesday night. A mistake from Jorginho saw Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang receive the ball.

The Gunners skipper laid off Smith-Rowe who flicked an effort into the far corner. It was the only goal of the game as Gabriel, Pablo Mari and Rob Holding combined in a back three. James gave a brief, but honest verdict on Arsenal.

“They’re a good team and hard to break down,” James stated, summing Arsenal up with a nine-word verdict. He continued: “We only have ourselves to blame for the loss. On another day maybe the game goes differently.”

Arsenal now sit in eighth place in the Premier League and with Brighton and Crystal Palace still to play, Arsenal fans are hopeful that they can qualify for European football. However, their closest rivals have all played less than them.

Two wins in their remaining two fixtures, though, could see the Gunners squeak into the Europa League positions. Time will tell, though, as West Ham, Liverpool and Tottenham look much more likely at this moment in time.