Alvaro Morata reveals how close he came to leaving this summer

ALVARO MORATA is on a mission to repay Chelsea’s faith in him and prove how much he loves life at Stamford Bridge.

Posted Monday, August 20, 2018 by Express.co.uk

Morata admits he could have been sold this summer but decided to stay and prove himself instead – and he finally got his reward in a game just made for strikers.

The Spain star missed the World Cup after ending his debut season at Chelsea on a barren run, and fans called for him to be sold when he missed a penalty against Arsenal in pre-season.

But in a match featuring 39 shots, Morata struck his first goal of the new campaign and only his second in the Premier League since Boxing Day.

He struck after Pedro scored the opener, only for Arsenal to come roaring back with goals from Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi before Marcos Alonso snatched a late winner.

But for Morata, who struggled with a back injury last season, it was just a sign of things to come now his future is sorted and he is house-hunting in the capital.

He said: "I could have gone back to Spain or Italy. All the people believe in me there but I want to change all the things here.

"I want to, not for all the haters, but for me and for Chelsea. Chelsea gave me everything in one moment that I needed and now I have a lot of time to give back all that Chelsea give me.

"I am looking forward to buy a house and I can't wait for the babies to grow up to put them into school. I am very happy. Why would I not be happy?

Chelsea transfer news: Alvaro Morata admits he could have been sold this summer

"I want to change all the thinking from the people who say I'm not. It's the only reason I stay here. If Chelsea said you are not in our plans, I move. But if Chelsea want you, every player wants to stay."

Chelsea need to improve at the back, where they could easily have conceded five or six, and new boss Sarri admitted afterwards it was bad for his health.

The chain-smoking Italian could not wait to have a puff after the final whistle after being put through the wringer – and then announced he is going to quit the habit,

Sarri said: "I am going to stop. Just for one or two years, then I will start again.

"There was a horrible 15 minutes when we were really in trouble. But I didn't feel like I needed a cigarette. I just needed the first half to end.

"We have to improve. I think that's normal. We start to work altogether two weeks ago so now my target is to play 90 minutes like the first 25."

As for Arsenal, their manager Unai Emery insists life will not be any easier when they face West Ham.

Emery became the first Arsenal manager to lose his first two matches in charge since Steve Burtenshaw, who suffered defeat in his first three games as caretaker in 1986.

But he insists the Gunners cannot take Saturday's visit of the Hammers lightly despite the fact the east Londoners have let in six goals in two games and are yet to score from open play.

Emery, whose side looked every bit as bad at the back against Chelsea as they did in losing to Manchester City, said: "Our performances are getting better.

"It is clear that the demand is very high and also that the two first matches are very difficult, but next week is also the same. We are going to prepare how we prepared for Manchester City and against Chelsea and continue to improve things."