Alonso: 'Arsenal defeat must motivate us'

The Spaniard told Chelsea's official website that the game against Arsenal was a good opportunity to pick up points, but added "We wasted it and now we have to work even harder to stay in a Champions League position and win games. It has to motivate us."

His comments came in the wake of heavy criticism from Blues' boss Mauricio Sarri, who said the Chelsea players were "extremely difficult to motivate."

"We made silly mistakes," Alonso continued. "We provoked them to gain confidence and come to press us because we were making mistakes. In the second half we tried but it was too late and we couldn't score."

"When you lose, you learn. We have to analyse the game and improve quickly because there is no time to think. We have to perform again in four days.'