Arsenal fight back to beat Chelsea as Odegaard delivers in London derby
Martin Odegaard scored the decisive goal as Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates, maintaining their perfect Premier League start and extending their unbeaten run against their London rivals to 12 matches.
It was a far tougher test than Arsenal had faced in their opening 2 games.
Match highlight
Their defence had not been breached all season, but Chelsea needed less than 2 minutes to change that. After a scrappy free-kick situation, Morgan Rogers reacted quickest and struck a precise volley into the net to give Xabi Alonso’s side a dream start.
The goal also made Chelsea the first Premier League team to score within the opening 5 minutes of each of their first 3 league matches.
Arsenal responded quickly and nearly equalised from their own set piece. Odegaard delivered a clever near-post ball, but Riccardo Calafiori could not convert. Emiliano Martinez then made an important save despite taking a painful blow to the head from Gabriel Magalhaes.
Martinez looked less convincing at the next Arsenal free-kick. Calafiori thought he had made it 1-1 after a scramble in the area, but VAR spotted Ezri Konsa touching the ball from an offside position and correctly ruled the goal out.
Bukayo Saka tested Martinez with a powerful near-post strike, although Chelsea remained dangerous themselves. Cole Palmer and Reece James both forced David Raya to stay alert with efforts from distance.
The home side’s equaliser eventually arrived through a familiar face. Former Chelsea forward Kai Havertz finished cleverly past an uncertain Martinez, bringing Arsenal level and shifting the momentum before half-time.
Chelsea almost hit back immediately. Pedro Neto struck the post after an excellent counterattack led by Joao Pedro, leaving the score level at the interval.
Only 5 minutes into the second half, Havertz produced a clever dummy inside the area, allowing Odegaard to arrive unmarked and finish to put the champions ahead.
Havertz then continued to torment his old club. The German showed sharp skill to flick the ball into Saka’s path, forcing Martinez into an excellent save that kept Chelsea within reach.
The visitors had one last big chance to rescue a point, but Raya produced a superb save to deny substitute Estevao Willian and secure the victory.
Arsenal have now won their first 3 Premier League matches for only the second time in 22 seasons. They are also unbeaten in 12 meetings with Chelsea, winning 9 and drawing 3.
For Chelsea, Alonso’s start has still shown encouraging attacking signs, but the defensive numbers are becoming a major concern. They have conceded 7 goals already, the worst record among the current top-10 sides, and have now gone 19 matches without a clean sheet dating back to Liam Rosenior’s first game in charge.
