Arsenal produced a resilient second-half turnaround to defeat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, overturning an early deficit to move level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
Morgan Rogers gave Chelsea an early lead, marking the first goal Arsenal had conceded all season, and for a spell the champions looked rattled. But the response from Mikel Arteta's side was swift and emphatic. Kai Havertz drew Arsenal level before setting up captain Martin Ødegaard with a clever dummy to complete the comeback and hand the hosts a 2-1 victory.
The result keeps Arsenal and City as the only two clubs to have won all three of their opening Premier League fixtures this season, underlining just how competitive the title race promises to be.
Speaking after the match, Arteta praised his players for the manner in which they responded to going behind. "It was an exceptional performance," he said. "I enjoyed every minute from beginning to end, and the beginning was tough. But the team responded in a spectacular way – the conviction, the determination, the quality. It was beautiful. It was a fascinating game."
The Arsenal manager suggested his squad has the capacity to surpass last season's standards, provided they retain their hunger. "I think it's an indication for us of how we are capable of performing at an even higher level than last season," he said. "It depends on how we maintain and sustain that desire, that humbleness, and continue every day to try to find a better version of myself and the team. We still have a lot to grow and a lot to offer. This is the ambition of the team."
Arteta also acknowledged the difficulty of the fixtures already faced this season, pointing to tough away trips as evidence of how tightly contested matches will be throughout the campaign. "It is going to be super hard, the margins you win games," he said. "We went to Villa Park a few days ago and it was really tough. Today again. We'll go to Sunderland and it'll again be so, so tough. We know every week is going to be like this but that's what we prepare for."
A particular highlight for Arteta was the display of Ødegaard, who has now scored three goals in four matches this season after struggling with injuries over the past two campaigns. "He feels, confidence-wise, I think one of the highest that I've seen him," Arteta said. "He has a point to prove from last season as well, missing so much football. Kai is the same... He is enjoying his football. He was running forward, having shots, creating for his teammates."
The Arsenal boss was equally complimentary of Havertz, who impressed against his former club. "He looks settled, he looks happy, in his personal life some great things have happened," Arteta said. "He looks fit, he looks happy and he is scoring goals." Arteta also expressed hope that defender Cristhian Mosquera would recover quickly from a muscle issue.
For Chelsea, the defeat was their first under new head coach Xabi Alonso, whose side has now conceded seven goals in three league matches and remain without a clean sheet in 19 consecutive league outings. "My priority is to win games and it's easier when you don't concede many," Alonso said. "This is something that we need to address. We want to be tighter, to be more clinical, more balanced. But this takes time."
Despite the result, Alonso insisted his team had competed well. "We wanted to compete, we came to win. We were not that far, but it went their way," he said. "The result is the result, I'm not fighting against that. It hurts. But this is the first defeat, it is going to be a long journey and it doesn't have a big impact in our mood."
Alonso also addressed Chelsea's approach, defending his side's attacking intent despite defensive fragility. "Today we didn't want to sit deep from the first minute and to wait and to make a long game," he said. "We wanted to be active, we wanted to be protagonists in the pressing... We have done many right things. We need to make it better."
On the fitness front, Alonso remains hopeful that midfielder Moisés Caicedo will not be sidelined long-term after missing the Chelsea match through injury, though his availability for the Carabao Cup clash with Leeds remains uncertain. "It's about assessing the risk," Alonso explained. "Probably last week we took him on too early and I don't want to make the same mistake again."
Based on reporting from The Guardian.