Facts verified across ESPN, Sky, Al Jazeera, Yahoo, Arseblog and VAVEL. Article below.
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Arsenal had been on the pitch for 77 seconds when the plan went out of the window. Morgan Rogers, released behind a defence still settling, put Chelsea ahead inside the first minute at the Emirates on Sunday and handed the champions the first deficit of their title defence. Forty-nine minutes later they had turned it round: Kai Havertz levelled on 25 minutes, Martin Odegaard swept in the winner five minutes after the interval, and Mikel Arteta’s side walked off with nine points from nine and a solitary goal conceded all season.
“It wasn’t the right start but we certainly reacted in an amazing way,” Arteta said. “I enjoyed the way we competed; we took risks, it was a joy to watch and an incredible game.”
Havertz and Odegaard settle a nervy afternoon
Rogers’ opener was the first goal Arsenal had conceded in the Premier League this season, arriving after 3-0 against Coventry City on the opening weekend and a grinding 1-0 at Aston Villa courtesy of Bukayo Saka’s 59th-minute finish. Chelsea, under Xabi Alonso, had the lead and the crowd silenced. They could not hold either.
Havertz’s equaliser against his former club was the product of the hold-up work that has become his central function in this side — occupying centre-backs, dragging them out of shape, then finishing when the ball came back to him. Odegaard’s winner completed the comeback, the captain converting after Christos Tzolis worked the ball across, a near-replica of the goal he scored against Manchester City in the Community Shield.
Odegaard was the game’s outstanding player, credited with seven key passes and four successful take-ons, and afterwards he pushed the credit towards his forward.
- “It was a big game, massive game, tough opponent and we got there in the end so brilliant,” Odegaard said.
- On Havertz: “[Kai is] a really smart player, he moves so well and takes a lot of attention from defenders.”
David Raya, who has faced comparatively little, made the saves required after the break to ensure Chelsea’s early goal remained their only one.
The striker Arsenal never signed
The wider context is a summer that drew heavy criticism. Arsenal sanctioned the departures of Gabriel Martinelli, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus — the last to Barcelona — and replaced three forwards with one: Tzolis, £34m from Club Brugge. No new No 9 arrived. Arteta was left with Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Mikel Merino as his central options, and Tzolis and Eberechi Eze providing width on the left.
Arteta has been unapologetic, insisting the club’s transfer objectives were “100 per cent ticked”. Three games is a small sample, but it is not nothing: six goals scored, one conceded, and the two most decisive attacking contributions of the weekend came from a converted forward and a midfielder. Gyokeres, meanwhile, came off the bench against Chelsea and did not markedly influence the game — a reminder that the striker question has been deferred rather than answered.
That is the gamble. Arsenal are betting that Havertz’s versatility, Odegaard’s restored fitness and the goals distributed through Saka, Eze and midfield runners make a specialist centre-forward a luxury rather than a necessity. It worked in 2025-26, when they won the league. It will be tested again in January, and harder still if Havertz misses time.
Still the team to beat
Arsenal end the weekend level on points with Manchester City, the only two sides in the division with a 100% record after Pep Guardiola’s team beat Coventry 1-0. Chelsea, on seven points, are the closest of the chasing pack and can reasonably argue they were the better team for a quarter of an hour at the Emirates.
The defensive number is the one that should worry the rest. One goal conceded in three matches, against a Chelsea side, a Villa side and a promoted team, extends the pattern that underpinned last season’s title: Arsenal do not need to be at their best to win, because they so rarely give anything away. Sunday was the first time this season they had been asked to chase a game, and they answered inside 50 minutes.
Arteta’s own framing was pointed. He called the performance “an indication we’re capable of performing higher than last season” — a champion’s claim, delivered after a match his side spent 24 minutes losing. There is an international break to absorb it, and an injury concern over Cristhian Mosquera to resolve. Beyond that, the early evidence says the squad Arsenal declined to strengthen is still the strongest in England.
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**Sources:** [VAVEL match report](https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2026/09/06/arsenal/1270435-odegaard-hails-havertz-after-display-against-chelsea.html) · [Yahoo player ratings](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/odegaard-havertz-8-arsenal-players-180000429.html) · [SportsDunia ratings](https://www.sportsdunia.com/football-ratings/arsenal-vs-chelsea-player-ratings-premier-league-6th-september-2026) · [Arseblog quotes round-up](https://arseblog.news/2026/09/post-chelsea-quotes-round-up-arteta-alonso-odegaard-konsa-havertz-wright-keown-more/) · [ESPN: Villa 0-1 Arsenal](https://www.espn.com/soccer/report/_/gameId/401879295) · [Al Jazeera: Arsenal 3-0 Coventry](https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/liveblog/2026/8/21/arsenal-vs-coventry-live-premier-league) · [Goal: Arteta on transfers](https://www.goal.com/en-ca/lists/mikel-arteta-defends-arsenal-transfers-premier-league/blt96a4c3ebd07cd8bb)
Two notes on judgment calls: sources disagreed on whether Havertz’s equaliser was a header from Odegaard or a strike from the edge of the box, so I described it without specifying the technique; and on the winner’s assist I went with Tzolis, which two sources support over a third naming Saka. I also avoided claiming Arsenal top the table outright — reports split on whether they or City lead on the tiebreak.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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