Chelsea vs. Arsenal: Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger Post-Match Reaction

Jose Mourinho heaped praise on his defence after Chelsea claimed a comfortable 2-0 home win over Arsenal on Sunday to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points.   

The Blues went ahead courtesy of a first-half Eden Hazard penalty and Diego Costa confirmed the win late on, lobbing Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after a wonderful ball from Cesc Fabregas.

Mourinho conceded they faced a difficult test against Arsenal but suggested his side very much deserved the three points, per Chelsea's Twitter feed:

It was a feisty occasion at Stamford Bridge with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger pushing Mourinho in the first half as he reacted to a Gary Cahill challenge on Alexis Sanchez.

The Portuguese manager brushed it off, however, and also commented on Thibaut Courtois, who had to be substituted in the first half after suffering a knock to the head in a collision with Sanchez, per Squawka and The Guardian's Daniel Taylor:

Wenger was adamant that he did not regret pushing his opposite man, suggesting there was little to the incident: 

While the set-to between the two managers was unsurprisingly a post-match talking point, Arsenal under-performed on the pitch and continue to struggle against the bigger teams, especially away from home.

Chelsea won convincingly and the Gunners never looked likely to take anything from the game when they went a goal down, their attacking flair sorely lacking, per AFP's Tom Williams:

"

Hazard, Costa and Fabregas the difference for Chelsea today. Wilshere aside, Arsenal's attacking players didn't really show up.

— Tom Williams (@tomwfootball) October 5, 2014"

The Emirates outfit now sit seventh in the league on 10 points, nine behind the Blues, who have dropped just two points from seven games this season.

Though it is still very much early days in the English top-flight, Chelsea look the team to catch. And with their rivals largely inconsistent thus far, few genuine challengers have emerged.

Manchester City will likely be the closest challengers to Mourinho's side this season, but the Sky Blues currently sit five points back in second place and Chelsea continue to impress in all areas.