Cesc Fabregas has claimed that teammate Eden Hazard is Chelsea's equivalent of Lionel Messi.

The Belgian starred in Sunday's 2-0 win over Arsenal, opening the scoring from the spot in a penalty that he won by skipping past a number of players before being fouled.

The 23-year-old netted 16 times en route to Chelsea's Player of the Year award last season, and Fabregas, who spent three years playing alongside Messi in Barcelona, says that Hazard has similar game-changing qualities.

"He is the link between midfield and attack for us; he is our Messi because he makes the difference," the Spaniard told radio station Cope.

"We have a young team but we are very positive about the future."

Sunday's win over the Gunners helped unbeaten Chelsea to their sixth victory in seven Premier League outings.