Chelsea skipper John Terry is proud of praise from manager Jose Mourinho after their draw at Arsenal.
Terry also dismissed criticism from Gunners boss Arsene Wenger at the final whistle.
Pressed on whether Wenger was right to claim defending was not difficult, Terry told the London Evening Standard: "It's an art. I totally respect him, he's a great manager. From our point of view, I'm just delighted.
"They are a really good side, particularly going forward. We needed to be on it defensively, which we have been of late.
"If Gary Cahill wasn't there, I was or Branislav Ivanovic. Cesar Azpilicueta was excellent, Thibaut Courtois came out late to take the pressure off the back four. Even the midfielders were tracking back late on, you could see they were shattered a little bit. But it was really good, everyone dug deep. It was a really big step to where we want to be.
"Jose told me it was my best performance. To hear that from the manager, who stands there and assesses day in, day out, year after year, is really nice. But I still need to kick on and keep going because it can go the other way.
"I'm delighted with the way I played but more importantly with the result for the team. Everyone dug deep and put in a really good performance all round."
