Antonio Conte felt Chelsea were deserving winners after they cruised past rivals Arsenal 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, but insisted beating the Gunners is never easy.
The Premier League leaders moved 12 points clear of Arsene Wenger's men on Saturday thanks to Marcos Alonso's early header, an impressive solo goal from Eden Hazard early in the second half and Cesc Fabregas' late lob.
Conte was thrilled with the accomplishment against an Arsenal side he rates highly and felt three points were warranted as his team took another step towards the title.
"We played a good game," Conte said to Sky Sports.
"It was not easy. Arsenal for me are a good team with a lot of good players – they are technical and physical.
"But we played a good game with good intensity and organisation defensively and offensively. We deserved the win.
"I am pleased with the effort of my players. I think they deserved it because during the week in every training session I see great attitude, great behaviours. In this case the coach must be pleased."
'Antonio, Antonio.' February 4, 2017
However, Conte was slightly frustrated by Chelsea conceding a stoppage-time header from Olivier Giroud.
"First of all I am pleased for the win, but at the same time I am a little bit disappointed with the goal we conceded to Arsenal," he said.
"It is a pity. It is important always to try to improve and keep concentrating in the right way from the start until the end.
"In the second part of the game we conceded a few chances to Arsenal. It is a pity, but we also created a lot of chances to score a lot of goals."
