Thibaut Courtois has revealed just how much Chelsea were left "hurt" by their 3-0 loss to London rivals Arsenal three months ago, but admits the Blues' change in formation has helped the club return stronger.
After good start to the season under new coach Antonio Conte, Chelsea suffered a three-game winless run when they drew 2-2 away to Swansea, lost 2-1 at home to Liverpool and were then comprehensively beaten by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in late September.
The loss against the Gunners sparked a change in the team's set-up as Conte immediately implemented a 3-4-3 formation for the trip to Hull the following week, which not only resulted in a 2-0 win at the KCOM Stadium but also triggered off an 11-game winning streak that hasn't yet been stopped.
Courtois believes Chelsea's team spirit has played its part in the club rising up the Premier League standings to currently sit nine points clear of second-placed Liverpool, and concedes the defeat at Arsenal was the turning point for the Blues.
In Pictures: Arsenal vs Chelsea
"That defeat to Arsenal hurt us but we’ve come back stronger with the new tactics and system," he told Chelsea's website.
"It works well, everybody is doing their job and we keep on winning. The spirit is very important."
Chelsea's most recent victories in the Premier League have been narrow 1-0 wins against West Brom, Sunderland and, on Saturday, Crystal Palace.
The manner of those results, which followed some big scorelines against the likes of Manchester United and Everton, has pleased Courtois because of how tough it was to break down opposition defences during those games.
"This week was good because we played against smaller teams but they defend well and it’s hard to break them down," he added.
"To win all three games 1-0 is very good and we’re happy. We now have two home games in front of our fans so we need to win them both."
