We acquitted ourselves well at the Emirates Stadium, going toe-to-toe with the Premier League title holders and taking an early lead when Morgan Rogers fired home a fine volley inside the first two minutes.

Arsenal fought back to take the lead themselves after half-time, but Chelsea pushed the Gunners all the way, with Pedro Neto striking the post and Estevao Willian being spectacularly denied by goalkeeper David Raya late on.

As he assessed the game after the final whistle, Alonso insisted that as disappointing as any defeat is, he was proud of the battling qualities shown by his team in this London derby.

‘It was a game with different stages of momentum,' said the Blues manager. 'We started the game well, scoring first, and the next 15 minutes they were really pushing us hard. We were defending low, struggling to have a little bit more of the ball to play a little bit more on the pitch.

‘So those 15 minutes were hard and we had to suffer. Once we conceded the goal for 1-1, the game came back to an even level for them and from us. We had a couple of good chances before the end of the first half, but at half-time we spoke.

'It was a very close game, very intense, when we had to have really high levels of concentration, not to give many advantages to them to be in the game, to be fighting for it.

'For sure, the second goal, we could’ve done a little bit better. It’s a part of the game you need to accept because they are a top side and they push you to the limits. They overload a lot on the left side with many players and they got the goal with Odegaard.

'But after that we have kept going and the team showed really good desire and good spirit to fight until the end. We were close with the chance from Este.

'It’s a defeat and we are disappointed; it needs to hurt, but it needs to hurt in a positive way because it’s just game three [of the season]. There are still many games to play and we knew it was going to be a very intense game today.'

The Spaniard was also asked after the game if there were any new concerns over Moises Caicedo missing the trip to Arsenal - having been forced off on his return from injury against Brighton & Hove Albion last week - as well as what impact being without the Ecuadorian and Levi Colwill had on Sunday's game.

'It is not long-term [for Caicedo] but it’s about assessing the risk,' added Alonso. 'Probably, last week, we took him too early and I don’t want to make the same mistake again.

'It’s easy after defeats to talk about the players that you are missing. I’m not going to go there, I am happy with the players that we have.

'For sure, all the managers need to deal with injuries, with suspensions. To have all the players available for all the games is impossible. But we need [Caicedo and Colwill] because they are top players and with them we are a better team.'