Mikel Arteta: Arsenal boss angry and says media 'try to put things on me I never said'

Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal: Mikel Arteta delighted with attitude & commitment of his players

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said the media "try to put things on me I never said" in an angry post-match interview after their 1-0 win over Chelsea.

Arteta said in the build-up not all of his players had reached their maximum potential and some reports suggested he had questioned their effort levels.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I don't accept somebody putting words in my mouth that I don't say.

"When it's related to my players, they're going to hit a wall."

He added: "They can try to give their opinions from the outside, that's fine, but to try to break what we have inside there is not possible."

Emile Smith Rowe scored the only goal at Stamford Bridge to keep the Gunners in the hunt for European football as Chelsea suffered only a third defeat under Thomas Tuchel.

Arteta's side are now eighth after winning three Premier League games in a row, but their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were effectively ended with last week's exit to Villarreal in the Europa League semi-finals.

Arteta told Sky Sports: "Nothing is broken inside [the club]. I don't know how they want to try from the outside. They try to put things on me that I never said.

"You can see the spirit of the team from the first minute. You can never doubt the efforts.

"I said if I don't get 120% off each player it's my fault and responsibility. It wasn't like this in the press. I'm so annoyed by that.

"My players, I will defend them from everybody for the rest of the time I'm here. They don't deserve that."

Gunners defender Rob Holding told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I'm really pleased with our attitude and effort.

"The stuff came out in the media yesterday which he [Arteta] said isn't true. It's out of context. He explained that to us. We knew it wasn't his opinion. We showed that tonight and we backed him and we did what he asked."