Graham Potter stopped short of calling Bukayo Saka a diver but eluded to a "contentious" moment involving the Arsenal star.
Tensions boiled over on the touchline between Potter and Mikel Arteta after the forward went down under a challenge from Marc Cucurella during Sunday's clash at Stamford Bridge. The referee refused to give a free-kick, with the Arsenal boss lamenting the decision, whilst Chelsea boss Potter felt Saka went down far too easily.
Potter said: “I think there was one action that was a little bit contentious shall we say but I don’t think he is that type of player.”
Chelsea are now 13 points behind leaders Arsenal and are in serious danger of falling out of the top four despite their big spending spree under new owner Todd Boehly.
Blues boss Potter warned Chelsea fans it will take time to turn the results around and insisted it will take time as he pointed to Mikel Arteta getting “pelters” before guiding Arsenal back to the top.
Potter said: “I’ve been here eight weeks and a lot has happened. We’ve had a lot to deal with and I’m sure if you look at the Arsenal story, where they are now as to where they were two years ago, one year ago.
“Its slightly different and I’m sure at times Mikel is getting pelters and that’s how it is. That’s the job, that’s the life and we have to deal with that.
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“We huffed and puffed, I think, but you could see the difference in the two teams in terms of confidence, in terms of points they’ve got, in terms of structure and working together. We are not in a fantastic moment as we speak.
“As much as it is not nice to say, Arsenal deserved to win the game and were the better team overall, so we have to take that and use it as motivation to improve.
“I think you’ve got to say Arsenal are ahead with where they’ve been working and how long they’ve been working together. They’ve got more points, they’ve got a confidence, a good structure and like I said at the start with my first answer: you have to say that’s fair.”
