Report: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea (inc. goals)

Arsenal: Raya, White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Tzolis, Saka, Havertz

Subs: Kepa, Hincapie, Eze, Gyokeres, Madueke, Merino, Zubimendi, Guimaraes, Dowman

Arsenal maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with an entertaining 2-1 win over Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Sunday, thanks to goals from Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard.

Mikel Arteta made one change from the side that beat Aston Villa on Monday night, with Ezri Konsa making his full debut in place of the injured Cristhian Mosquera.

Christos Tzolis continued on the left despite his difficult game at Villa Park, with Bruno Guimaraes deemed fit enough for the bench after suffering a small knock.

FIRST HALF

It was the worst possible start for Arsenal who found themselves behind within 90 seconds after Morgan Rogers – who else – punished some questionable set piece defending before volleying past David Raya. 0-1.

Chelsea have made fast starts a habit this season but this felt avoidable from a Gunners perspective with Ben White and Ezri Konsa both guilty of some half-hearted actions even though no obvious error was made.

But Arsenal responded positively with a number of slick moves of their own, and thought they found themselves level after Riccardo Calafiori bundled in from a set piece (clip here) after Emi Martinez made a good initial save from Gabriel.

However those celebrations were cut short after Konsa was correctly ruled offside in the earlier passage of play.

It was clear that Chelsea were struggling to deal with the hosts despite their early lead, with Saka forcing another save from Martinez after excellent play from Martin Odegaard, before Kai Havertz had another sight of goal which was well blocked by Wesley Fofana.

This game was being played at a frightening pace and the problem with Arsenal chasing an equaliser is that Chelsea love their transitions, and Raya was called into action twice in quick succession to save shots from Cole Palmer and Reece James.

But Arteta’s men did eventually force their equaliser when Havertz cut in from the right hand side, used Odegaard as a decoy and rolled into the bottom corner with Martinez beaten softly at his near post. No complaints from anyone in red. 1-1.

Arsenal continued to press with a number of impressive, delicate moves around the box in close quarters but despite getting in behind the Blues defence they couldn’t quite fashion that into clear chances.

Just before the break, Raya sent Havertz racing away in transition before he was brought down by Palmer who was booked for his cynical trip, but the England midfielder probably should have been walking after avoiding a booking for another cynical kick on Myles Lewis-Skelly earlier on.

There was even time for Pedro Neto to hit the post in the dying seconds of first half injury time after he cut inside Gabriel and fired towards the far post, but thankfully no Chelsea shirt was there to follow up.

SECOND HALF

Neither side made a half time change but Arsenal took charge of possession early on and needed just five minutes to get themselves ahead, with a beautifully constructed goal that had shades of our Community Shield win last month.

Tzolis showed good intention to drive in off the touchline before firing a ball into Havertz who left it – taking Fofana out of the game – allowing Odegaard to run onto the ball and fire past Martinez. 2-1.

It was another delicious move from Arteta’s men who carved Chelsea open, and even Calafiori played his role by dragging Maxence Lacroix out of position with another adventurous forward run.

On the hour mark, Xabi Alonso sought to change the momentum of this game with Malo Gusto and Pep Chavarria replacing Romeo Lavia and Jorrel Hato. That seemed to inject some life into Chelsea who tested Raya again on two occasions, and Arteta reacted by bringing on Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi for Calafiori and Lewis-Skelly.

After a much-needed spell of possession, the Gunners nearly scored another sensational goal when Odegaard and Havertz combined to set Saka free, but his curling effort was well saved by Martinez when it looked destined for the bottom corner. Odegaard had been sensational up until that point but Havertz was playing really well too.

Arsenal were inches away from a third goal when another corner created havoc but after some penalty box pinball, the ball could’ve gone anywhere but it landed straight in the hands of Martinez.

With 15 minutes left to play, Arteta made another double change with Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres replacing Odegaard and Havertz who were starting to tire.

Chelsea continued to push for an equaliser and there was a big coming together between Rogers and Rice after the Arsenal man tripped him up under the referee’s nose, with Rogers furious at both the challenge and the referee missing the trip.

With Odegaard and Havertz off, the Gunners had (understandably) lost their ability to control the game and they were finding it harder to find their exits with both wingers knackered, but deep into injury time there was still time for Raya to make an incredible save for his already impressive highlight reel.

Estevao – who came on earlier in the game alongside Danny Welbeck – cut inside from the right and fired an effort towards the top corner, which Raya somehow extended a hand to before tipping over the bar. It was a sensational piece of goalkeeping that secured all three points.

This was a high-level, high intensity game that was played competitively throughout but Arsenal deserved the win. They played some sensational and created more than enough chances to win more comfortably (2.27xg to 0.36xG) but defending a one-goal lead is always difficult – especially against opponents of this quality.

But that was a statement performance at home and the perfect start to the season continues.

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