Alonso urges Chelsea to learn from painful defeat at Arsenal

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, left, and Chelsea's Morgan Rogers react during the English Premier League football match as the two clubs met in the London derbby which the champions won 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium.

Xabi Alonso urged Chelsea to use their 2-1 defeat at Arsenal on Sunday as a valuable lesson in the race to catch the Premier League champions.

Blues boss Alonso had presided over free-scoring wins against Fulham and Brighton in the top-flight and Luton in the League Cup.

But Arsenal, who have won their opening three games, inevitably proved a far more formidable opponent in a pulsating London derby at the Emirates Stadium.

Morgan Rogers put Chelsea ahead after just 77 seconds but Kai Havertz equalised in the first half and Martin Odegaard bagged Arsenal's winner after the interval.