Chelsea legend and West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola said Arsenal are better side than his former club.

Zola was reacting to Saturday’s 2-0 defeat  to the 10-men Arsenal who was reduced when Tomas Vermaelen was sent off in the first half.

"When we played Chelsea last week they probably didn’t play with the same quality or intensity as Arsenal,"  Zola was quoted in The Mirror.

"Arsenal are terrible, if you leave them a little bit of space, because they punish you."

The Italian further described Arsenal and their Champions League quarterfinal opponent Barcelona as the best teams in Europe but wondered whether Arsenal will maintain it and end their five year trophy drought.

"Arsenal, along with Barcelona, are the team who are playing the best football in Europe probably. They are very good to watch,” he added.

"Whether they are going to be able to do that until the end [of the season] I don’t know. That is the question that everybody is asking.

"Arsenal played some good football but there were some moments when we matched them completely. Arsenal and Chelsea are both good teams and they will be in contention [for the Premier League title] until the end that is for sure."

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