Andreas Christensen has promised that he will never get “comfortable” in the Chelsea first team, opening up about the mental pressure involved in playing for Antonio Conte’s side.

The Danish centre-back has been one of the finds of the season for Chelsea, effectively replacing David Luiz and making 19 starts already. But as he explained after Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal, it is “mentally hard” to keep performing at the top level for a side trying to win multiple competitions.

Christensen is an established first-teamer now and on Tuesday he was rewarded with a new four and a half year contract, taking him up to June 2022, to recognise his progress. But the 21-year-old knows that he has to maintain his high performance standards, because if he gets sloppy he will lose his place. Not just because Chelsea have senior defenders like Luiz and Gary Cahill, but because they are also interested in upgrading their squad. Conte was interested in signing Virgil van Dijk from Southampton before he joined Liverpool for £75million.

Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Show all 23 1 /23 Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings We run the rule over the two teams. Getty Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Thibaut Courtois - 6 Had very little to do as Chelsea were on the front foot for the majority of the game. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Cesar Azpilicueta - 7 Almost claimed an assist late in the first half but his cross was headed straight at David Ospina by Cesc Fabregas. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Andreas Christensen - 5 Should’ve given Chelsea the lead twice in the second half but missed the target with a couple of easy headers. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Antonio Rudiger - 6 Didn’t have too much to do at the back against a very conservative Arsenal attack. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Victor Moses - 6 Came close to scoring twice in the opening period but was denied on both occasions by Ospina. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Danny Drinkwater - 6 Neat and tidy in possession but didn’t make a telling contribution to the match. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings N'Golo Kante - 6 Might’ve scored for the hosts a minute after half-time but saw his goal-bound shot inadvertently blocked by teammate Christensen. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Cesc Fabregas - 6 Should’ve given Chelsea the lead late in the first half but headed straight at Ospina from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Marcos Alonso - 5 Scored a stunner in last week’s game at the Emirates but was quiet tonight. Getty Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Eden Hazard - 5 This was an off night for the mercurial attacker. He wasted a couple of really good opportunities In the second half. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Alvaro Morata - 5 Had another night to forget after his stinker at the Emirates last week. Chelsea FC via Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings David Ospina - 7 Made a number of good saves, most notably from Victor Moses, to keep a clean sheet. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Calum Chambers - 7 A solid display from a player who looks to be working his way back into form. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Shkodran Mustafi - 7 Produced an instinctive block to divert a well-struck Moses volley away from goal in the second half. AFP/Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Rob Holding - 6 This was a drastic improvement on his poor display against Nottingham Forest at the weekend. Action Plus via Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Hector Bellerin - 6 Disciplined at right-wing back against the dangerous Marcos Alonso. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Granit Xhaka - 6 Wasted a number of set pieces in the first half but had a good game otherwise. Arsenal FC via Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Jack Wilshere - 7 One of Arsenal’s best players before an ankle injury forced him off in the second half. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Ainsley Maitland-Niles - 6 A solid outing in an unfamiliar position. Slipped during a Chelsea attack in the first half but Ospina bailed him out with a good save from Moses. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Alex Iwobi - 5 Handed another chance after his weekend party antics but offered nothing going forward for the visitors. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Danny Welbeck - 6 A willing runner as always but didn’t contribute enough in an attacking sense. Getty Images Chelsea vs Arsenal: Player ratings Alexandre Lacazette - 5 Wasted Arsenal’s best chance of the first half and was substituted shortly after the hour mark. Getty Images

“You can’t get comfortable here,” Christensen said after Chelsea’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal. “Even with the players we have here now you can’t feel comfortable, the players we have in the changing room.” That competition for places, Christensen says, creates an intense pressure to perform. “That is why it is so mentally hard because every time you play you have to perform and you can’t afford to make major mistakes.”

Christensen’s success this season is a vindication of his pathway into the Chelsea first team, which included a two-year loan to Borussia Monchengladbach. In Germany he gained the experience that has allowed him to slot into the first team this year.

“I am happy with the way it has gone,” Christensen said. “It’s not an easy team to break in. The two seasons I had away prepared me. I said to myself that if I wasn’t ready now, I would never be.”

The biggest adjustment Christensen has to make is to playing over the busy Christmas period. At Monchengladbach he would have a two-week Christmas period but here the football never stops. While Conte has cleverly rotated his defenders, Christensen admitted that he is still starting to feel tired, especially mentally, about the high demands of regular first-team performance.

Christensen is one of the finds of the season (Getty)

“There are so many games that we try to rotate a lot,” Christensen said. “That helps a lot but at the same time you want to play as many games as possible. At the end of the games you feel a bit tired but we love to play football and we won’t complain.”