Arsenal produced a strong comeback at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to defeat Chelsea 2–1 and maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season.
The defending champions fell behind inside the opening two minutes but responded impressively, with Kai Havertz and captain Martin Ødegaard scoring to complete the comeback in a pulsating London derby.
Morgan Rogers stunned the home crowd when he fired Chelsea ahead after just 77 seconds, giving new Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso’s side an early advantage.
The visitors’ fast start appeared to put Arsenal under pressure, but Mikel Arteta’s side quickly regained their composure and began creating opportunities.
Havertz restores Arsenal’s confidence
Arsenal eventually found their equaliser in the 25th minute through Havertz.
The German forward finished from inside the area to bring the champions level after Chelsea had enjoyed the better start.
The equaliser changed the momentum of the match, with Arsenal becoming increasingly dangerous as the first half progressed.
Chelsea continued to threaten on the counterattack, but Arsenal went into the break level after an entertaining opening 45 minutes.
Ødegaard completes the comeback
Arsenal continued their pressure after the restart and took the lead early in the second half.
Ødegaard finished a flowing Arsenal move to put the hosts 2–1 ahead, with Havertz playing an important role in creating the opportunity.
The goal was particularly significant for the Arsenal captain, who has started the campaign strongly after dealing with injury problems last season.
Ødegaard also scored in Arsenal’s opening victory over Coventry City, underlining his growing influence in Arteta’s side.
Chelsea refused to surrender and created several opportunities as they searched for an equaliser.
However, Arsenal’s defence held firm, while goalkeeper David Raya produced an important late save to deny Chelsea and preserve the three points.
Arsenal maintain perfect record
The victory gives Arsenal three wins from three Premier League matches and keeps them level on nine points with Manchester City at the top of the table.
The result also ended Chelsea’s unbeaten start under Alonso, with the Blues remaining on six points after three matches.
Arsenal’s victory was particularly encouraging for Arteta because it came after they had conceded for the first time this season and had to recover from an early setback.
The Arsenal manager described his team’s performance as exceptional and suggested that the champions could reach an even higher level than they did during their title-winning campaign last season.
Chelsea show promise despite defeat
Despite the loss, Chelsea demonstrated why they are expected to be among the teams challenging for major honours this season.
Rogers’ early goal highlighted the attacking threat within Alonso’s squad, but defensive weaknesses once again proved costly.
Chelsea have now conceded seven goals in their opening three league matches and are still searching for their first clean sheet of the campaign.
Alonso will therefore have to address his side’s defensive organisation while maintaining the attacking approach that has made Chelsea an exciting team to watch.
For Arsenal, however, the focus is firmly on maintaining their momentum.
The champions will next face Sunderland away from home on September 12, while Chelsea will host Hull City later that day.
With Arsenal already demonstrating their ability to recover from adversity, Sunday’s victory could prove an early statement of intent in their Premier League title defence.
