Chelsea boss Graham Potter admires how Arsenal have backed manager Mikel Arteta and been rewarded for it.

Arsenal are top of the table, two points ahead of second-place Manchester City and 10 points ahead of sixth-place Chelsea.

“What I like is that they identified Mikel and supported him through difficult times,” Potter said.

“There have been times when he has been under pressure, certainly from the outside. Take the rivalry between Arsenal and Chelsea away and that is quite a good thing from a coach’s perspective to see a club support and back him and come through and they are getting the rewards now.

“It’s a combination of good work from him, from the staff and recruitment and support. It sounds straightforward but it isn’t.

“They are there on merit. They have had three years of working with Mikel and building and building.

“We are at the start of quite an exciting project with lots of things that have happened behind the scenes, lots of change and lots of instability. So different phases but we have to focus on the game and try to build.”