Jamie Carragher has warned Arsenal's Premier League rivals that the champions' defensive resilience, even without their standout centre-back William Saliba, should be viewed as an ominous sign in the title race.
Arsenal maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a hard-fought 2-1 comeback victory over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, a result that extended Mikel Arteta's side's flawless run while inflicting Chelsea's first defeat of the campaign.
The match began dramatically for the hosts when Morgan Rogers, a player who had been strongly linked with a move to Arsenal over the summer, fired Chelsea into an early lead with a volley just 77 seconds into the contest. Arsenal responded with composure rather than panic, drawing level in the 25th minute through Kai Havertz, who scored against his former club. The turnaround was completed five minutes after half-time when Martin Odegaard netted to put Arsenal in front, as the home side took control of proceedings.
Despite dominating for large parts of the second half, Chelsea created few clear-cut opportunities to find an equaliser, with most of their efforts coming from outside the penalty area. Their best chance arrived late in the game when Estevao was denied by a brilliant save from Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya, preserving the lead for the champions.
One of the standout performances came from Ezri Konsa, who impressed on his home debut for Arsenal after being called upon to fill in for the injured Saliba and Cristhian Mosquera. Konsa's display, including a crucial tackle against Rogers, drew praise from supporters and pundits alike.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Carragher highlighted the significance of Arsenal's defensive performance given the absence of Saliba, who has yet to play a single minute this season despite being regarded as one of the best centre-backs in world football.
"The worrying thing for everyone else already, is that Saliba who was genuinely world class, arguably the best centre-back in world football has not played a minute of football so far this season and it doesn't look like anyone can score against them," Carragher said.
The former Liverpool defender pointed out that even though Chelsea managed to find the net early on, they struggled to truly break down Arsenal's backline throughout the remainder of the match.
"They get a goal, Chelsea, but didn't really one big chance in the game, a lot of efforts from outside the box," Carragher explained. "[David] Raya made a great save from Estevao at the end, but that would have been a great goal, but didn't really open them up and that's without their best defender."
Carragher summarised the situation as a cause for concern among Arsenal's title challengers, while also acknowledging the positive impact of Konsa's introduction to the side.
"So, that is a worry, but a great start for [Konsa] and that tackle [against Rogers], supporters love that type of thing," he added.
With Arsenal continuing to find ways to win even when not at their fluent best, and with a player of Saliba's calibre still unavailable, questions are already being asked about how formidable Arteta's squad could become once their first-choice defensive partnership is fully restored. For now, the Gunners' perfect record stands as a statement of intent to the rest of the division as the title race begins to take shape.
Based on reporting from Standard Sport (Football).