Arsenal vs Chelsea: Gunners stamp authority, but Blues are contenders too

Arsenal’s pedigree arsenic defending Premier League champions faced its archetypal large trial of the season, with the Gunners hosting rubric aspirants and large spenders Chelsea connected the 3rd matchday.

It is not often that games built up with specified hype and expectations unrecorded up to their billing, but Arsenal’s 2-1 triumph implicit Chelsea surely delivered connected Sunday.

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Breathless action, sub-plots galore and a full of 99 minutes and 35 seconds of edge-of-your-seat shot drama.

We whitethorn lone beryllium 3 rounds into the marathon 38-game Premier League season, but it was the archetypal existent trial of the credentials for Arsenal and new-look Chelsea aft their $473m summertime outlay.

Here are 5 things we learned from the featured clash astatine the Emirates.

Arsenal’s defence: Injuries? No problem

What bash you get erstwhile you pit arguably the league’s meanest defence against 1 of its astir breathtaking caller attacks? The scoreline mightiness suggest it was a adjacent game, but successful reality, it wasn’t.

Chelsea did muster 13 shots connected goal, but 8 of those came from extracurricular the box, and they combined for an expected goals statistic of 0.35. The Blues had conscionable 25 touches wrong the Arsenal punishment area.

Of the 30 Premier League games played among each 20 teams truthful far, Arsenal person present recorded 3 of the 4 lowest totals of expected goals scored against them.

Arsenal’s antiaircraft prowess was adjacent much awesome successful the lack of their first-choice defenders William Saliba and Jurrien Timber, who played astatine slightest 30 games each successful their team’s title-winning tally past season. In their absence, antiaircraft options Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie and Ezri Konsa person each fared admirably.

As a result, Arsenal person won their opening 3 league games this play portion conceding less than 2 goals for the 3rd clip ever.

They volition anticipation the omens travel the 2003-04 season, erstwhile they finished arsenic unbeaten champions, alternatively than the 1924-25 season, erstwhile they yet ended up successful 20th.

Ben White, left, was a standout performer for Arsenal. [Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]

Attacking from the flanks

With young defender Jurrien Timber sidelined pursuing groin surgery, Ben White has filled successful astatine right-back successful the opening 3 games of the campaign. He has besides filled Timber’s large attacking boots successful summation to keeping things choky astatine the back.

A whopping 47 percent of Arsenal’s attacks against Chelsea came down the close flank occupied by White and Bukayo Saka.

As engaged arsenic Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis were connected the wings, lone 28 percent of Arsenal’s attacks came down their near flank, with lone 25 percent coming done the mediate of the park, occupied by Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Martin Odegaard.

Timber being backmost successful afloat grooming and perchance backmost successful enactment wrong days is simply a boost to Mikel Arteta, but White’s signifier means the Gunners’ manager tin spend to instrumentality his clip successful bringing Timber backmost into the fray.

Havertz and Gyokeres pb the charge

Only David Raya, Gabriel and White person played much minutes for Arsenal crossed the opening 3 games than Kai Havertz.

After back-to-back 90 minutes, the German came disconnected with 12 minutes remaining against Chelsea, allowing Viktor Gyokeres his archetypal minutes of enactment successful the league.

The Swede was heavy linked with a determination distant from the Emirates successful the transportation window, but successful the end, teammate Gabriel Jesus made the power to Barcelona instead, and really made his debut disconnected the seat astatine Valencia astatine the nonstop aforesaid clip his erstwhile squad were hosting Chelsea.

Gyokeres understandably looked rusty; a dense aboriginal interaction connected the near flank allowed Maxence Lacroix the accidental to interruption up an attack, but helium warmed to the task and produced a fantastic flick connected halfway to motorboat different counter.

Meanwhile, Havertz had 10 touches successful the absorption container successful 78 minutes, the archetypal clip he’s reached treble figures successful a Premier League lucifer since January 2025 – a tally of 19 appearances. He besides picked up his 4th extremity against his erstwhile nine successful 9 appearances successful league and cup, six of which person present ended successful Arsenal wins with the different 3 drawn.

Havertz intelligibly wants to support a grip connected his starting guardant role.

Martin Odegaard scored Arsenal’s 2nd goal. [Tony O Brien/Reuters]

Odegaard’s power grows

After a stellar World Cup tally with Norway, Arsenal skipper Martin Odegaard’s renaissance has continued.

The 27-year-old mightiness person lifted the Premier League trophy past May, but his power connected the play arsenic a full was acold little obvious. He started conscionable 24 Premier League games and played a full of 1,371 minutes – sixth among Gunners midfielders.

His extremity against Chelsea was, however, his 3rd successful 4 appearances crossed each competitions this play – this aft netting conscionable erstwhile successful 36 outings past word – and helium erstwhile again proved the captious cog successful Arsenal’s onslaught successful a Player of the Match performance.

Morgan Rogers celebrates scoring with Joao Pedro. [Tony O Brien/Reuters]

Are Chelsea a unit to beryllium reckoned with?

Well, it surely looks similar a measurement successful the close direction. On the grounds of the opening 3 games, a new-look Chelsea look similar top-four contenders erstwhile again.

The Blues finished 9 places and 33 points adrift of Arsenal past season, but had it not been for a flying David Raya prevention from Estevao’s rasping precocious shot, they mightiness person snatched a constituent astatine the location of the champions successful conscionable their 3rd crippled nether Xabi Alonso.

There are problems for the Spaniard to lick arsenic Chelsea person present gone 19 league games without a cleanable sheet, and contempt the attacking menace of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, they created an expected goals tally of conscionable 0.35 crossed 90 minutes.

However, Chelsea fans tin beryllium optimistic arsenic they are the archetypal squad successful Premier League past to people wrong the opening 5 minutes successful each of their archetypal 3 games of the season.

The five-time champions besides showed innovation and bravery to nullify the menace of set-piece specialists Arsenal by restricting them to conscionable 5 corners successful total.

The Blues sent 4 players upfield from their ain container earlier the country was taken, dragging Arsenal players with them and sending 1 antheral retired to effort and complaint down the kick.