What Declan Rice shouted after Xabi Alonso meltdown moment to inspire Arsenal win over Chelsea

Declan Rice during Arsenal's clash against Chelsea.(Image: Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Former Chelsea forward Kai Havertz and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard ensured Mikel Arteta's champions maintained their 100 per cent record with a gutsy victory over Xabi Alonso's high-flying Blues.

It was a real cracker that had supporters on tenterhooks right up until the final bell. Chelsea actually took the lead inside two minutes through Morgan Rogers before the Gunners hit back through Havertz on 25 minutes.

Odegaard then netted the all-important winner in the second-half following a free-flowing move involving Christos Tzolis and Havertz, who dummied the ball into the Norwegian's pathway so that he could rifle past Emi Martinez.

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Arsenal needed a brilliant late save from David Raya which denied Estevao Willian a stunning late equaliser to get over the line.

football.london discusses several talking points following a hotly-contested fire-cracker in north London.

Arsenal have now won their opening three Premier League games for only the second time in 22 Premier League seasons - thanks to David Raya's stunning late save to deny Estevao.

The only other occasion was back in 2022-23, the first campaign where Arsenal were able to challenge for the title under Mikel Arteta.

Victory also meant Chelsea were unable to win their opening four matches of a season (including Carabao Cup) for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign under Antonio Conte - when they won the Premier League.

Many have speculated that Arsenal will be a different animal now they have finally won the silverware they craved, and so far this season, they have backed up those claims with three important but differing wins. They look a force to be reckoned with.

The Gunners are now unbeaten in their last 10 matches against the Blues, who just cannot seem to work Arsenal out.

Kai Havertz was on the scoresheet for Arsenal against Chelsea(Image: David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)

Ezri Konsa was slightly hesitant on his first Arsenal start as he battled hard with Chelsea striker Joao Pedro and the Gunners did not look watertight at the back, as they usually do.

Much of that appeared to be because Konsa and Gabriel Magalhaes were clearly adapting to one another and there were moments in the first half where Konsa looked a tad nervy.

One sequence in particular resulted in Morgan Rogers curling narrowly wide after his former Aston Villa team-mate opted against heading a long ball. He then failed to get tight to Rogers, who received the ball again before getting his shot off. More quality and Chelsea were ahead.

While the Blues were enjoying a spell of pressure, Konsa and Gabriel were visibly shouting at each other trying to get the situation back under control.

The second half started more possibility as Konsa crunched Rogers in a moment that ignited the atmosphere at the Emirates but Cole Palmer also nearly profited from a tame header from his compatriot, though David Raya was equal to his strike.

Ezri Konsa put a crunching challenge in on Morgan Rogers

Xabi Alonso had just exploded at the fourth official because Ezri Konsa appeared to have tugged Joao Pedro, who did not get the foul.

The ball was then turned over frantically and play all became a bit chaotic - something Declan Rice noticed.

Addressing the rest of his team-mates, he shouted "settle down" while pointing to his head and funnily enough, Arsenal did.

Five minutes later, they were level through Kai Havertz and they only got better from there. Some of the attacking football that the Gunners played was arguably the best they have served up all season in the Premier League.

Chelsea were resolute and kept themselves in the game but Arsenal should have been out of sight. Rice was right though. At the time, Arsenal were getting caught in possession, rushing things and making silly fouls. His maturity just calmed them down.

Morgan Rogers was always going to have a say given he was a clear summer transfer target for Arsenal. It's just how football works. But for the £117million Chelsea signing to net inside the opening two minutes was quite something.

His celebration was also rather interesting as it appeared to be a pointed message towards the Arsenal supporters following his decision to sign for the Blues instead of the Premier League champions this summer.

It was the celebration that previously belonged to a certain Thierry Henry as Rogers leaned on the corner flag while smiling.

The transfer market may have closed but you couldn't help but wonder how different things might have been if Rogers signed for Arsenal as he would have slotted into Arteta's attack rather nicely.

Arsenal fans didn't forget that moment though and they chanted that Rogers "should have signed for a big club" after he was subbed in the second half. Rogers smiled back.

Last season, we saw several sides try to exploit Arsenal's set-piece threat by leaving three men up whenever the Gunners had a corner.

This time around, Alonso's Blues were bolder as they left four up during the first half. It's a dangerous game to play because it effectively meant Chelsea had less men picking up Gabriel and Havertz.

In the second half, it was a different story as Chelsea left zero men up front, giving Arsenal more options and the flexibility to go short and create a different kind of angle.

Dead-balls were one of Arsenal's most lethal-weapons last season but teams know they are dangerous, so we are starting to see new tactics in place to try and combat that.

Xabi Alonso's side gave it a good go but Chelsea couldn't topple Arsenal(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA)

Chelsea are starting to develop a track record of scoring early in matches this season. They were ahead inside 31 seconds at Fulham, scored against Brighton with three minutes and 39 seconds on the clock and here they were up inside one minute and 17 seconds through Rogers.

Once or twice might just be a coincidence but it's clear there's real intent from Alonso's side to push hard and be aggressive from the very first whistle.

Many teams have come to the Emirates and simply rolled over but Chelsea were willing to go toe-to-toe with the Gunners, which made for a thrilling first half and game of football.

This result doesn't mean Chelsea shouldn't be taken seriously in the Premier League title race.

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