Chelsea midfielder Matic hoping for strong finish to season

Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic feels that their 1-0 win over Arsenal in the English Premier League (EPL) has given the struggling defending champions hope for a bright finish to the current football season.

Chelsea striker Diego Costa scored the winner in the first half as Arsenal, reduced to 10 men after Per Mertasacker's red card, struggled at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

It was only the seventh win of the EPL campaign for Chelsea so far, having lost nine times in 23 matches. The defending champions are 13th on the EPL table.

"It was a big win because we are in a bad position in the table and every point for us is important, especially when you play against Arsenal in this stadium where it is always hard," Matic told chelseafc.com.

"We deserved to win, we showed our qualities and that we can play good football, and I am sure that until the end of the season we will show that we are still a big team and that we can win something."

The Serbia international also felt that Chelsea showed their "real" selves in the 1-0 win and insisted that their performance demonstrates that the players still deserve to play for the club.

"This was the real Chelsea, and I believe that we can show again in the future that we deserve to play for this club," the 27-year-old said.

"Of course we are not in a good position in the table but there are a lot of games until the end of the season and we have chance to show our quality," the former Benfica player added.