The Spain international was starting his seventh game of the season, but grabbed his first goal of the campaign midway through the second half to seal the Blues’ victory.

Cesar Azpilicueta scored a first-half opener at the Emirates Stadium, pouncing on Carl Jenkinson’s error to extend Chelsea’s winning run over their London rivals in the League Cup to four games.

After the game, Mata insisted he remains content with Jose Mourinho’s apparent unwillingness to utilise him regularly. “I just try to play and enjoy my football,” he told Sky Sports.

He added: “The manager is the one who makes the decisions. I always try my best for this club and today I really enjoyed it. I’m very proud for the fans here and at home.

It’s a pleasure for me and for us to play here with a lot of supporters and I’m really happy. Looking at our opponents this week, Manchester City and Arsenal, they are two of the best teams in Europe right now and we beat them so we are ready to fight for titles.

“Arsenal are a team that try until the end and create a lot of chances with the likes of (Santi) Cazorla, (Aaron) Ramsey and (Olivier) Giroud, so it was an important goal.”u00a0