​Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Odegaard caps champions' comeback as Alonso's perfect start ends

Martin Odegaard scored the winner as Arsenal beat Chelsea 2-1 to maintain their perfect start to the Premier League season and end that of their London rivals.

Xabi Alonso's visitors had made a flying start as Morgan Rogers – a former Arsenal transfer target – put them in front after 77 seconds, though ex-Blues forward Kai Havertz got the Gunners level in the 25th minute. 

And Odegaard – who also struck in Arsenal's season-opening win over Coventry City – finished off a flowing move early in the second half, with the reigning champions now one of just two teams with a 100% record, alongside Manchester City.

It was Chelsea who struck first to stun the Emirates Stadium, as Arsenal struggled to clear their lines following a deep free-kick from Reece James. Jorrel Hato's knock-down found Rogers, whose first touch of the game was a right-footed volley that trickled past David Raya.

Arsenal responded positively, though, and Emiliano Martinez had to cover his near post under pressure from Riccardo Calafiori and Gabriel Magalhaes, both of whom were involved when Arsenal had a potential 12th-minute equaliser disallowed.

After Joao Pedro missed his clearance from a Declan Rice set-piece, Gabriel's shot was touched onto the post by Martinez, and though Ezri Konsa kept the attack alive for Calafiori to tap home, a VAR review led to the former Aston Villa defender being ruled offside.

The Gunners kept up the pressure, however, and Havertz levelled when he sauntered inside and beat Martinez with a clever reverse finish into the near corner.

But it was Chelsea who could have gone into half-time with the lead, as Rogers' shot faded away from Raya's left post and Pedro Neto smacked the base of the other upright, after racing down the left channel and skipping past Gabriel. 

Arsenal then went in front in the 50th minute, with Havertz involved once again. He spotted Odegaard's run into the Chelsea area and smartly dummied Christos Tzolis' pass for the Norwegian, who lashed beyond the helpless Martinez.

Malo Gusto skewed over the crossbar as Chelsea sought a route back into the contest, though Bukayo Saka almost ended their comeback hopes when his curler was turned wide by Martinez.

Chelsea had one last chance to preserve their unbeaten start under Alonso in the 89th minute, and though Estevao's attempt looked destined to bend into the top-left corner, Raya flew across his line to make a heroic save. 

Fast start not enough for Chelsea 

Given Arsenal's fearsome defensive record, Alonso will have been delighted to see Chelsea give themselves something to defend. The Blues are the first team in Premier League history to score inside the opening five minutes of three straight games at the start of a season.

Rogers' strike was also the earliest conceded by Arsenal in the Premier League since August 2023, when Andreas Pereira netted for Fulham after 57 seconds in a 2-2 draw.

Given Arsenal were winless in their previous 14 Premier League meetings with Chelsea after going behind (D4 L10), Mikel Arteta may have feared the worst at that point.

But Havertz led the Arsenal fightback, netting his third Premier League goal against Chelsea. Among players to have represented the Blues in the competition, the only players to score more against them after leaving are Mohamed Salah and Kevin De Bruyne (five each).

There were nine shots on target in the opening 25 minutes of the game, culminating in Havertz's goal. The only Premier League match on record (since 2003-04) to see more was West Ham 0-3 Sunderland in May 2011 (11).

The champions exerted more control as the match went on, though, and Odegaard proved the hero. The Norwegian has scored three goals in four appearances across all competitions this season, having only netted once in 36 outings last term.

And though Havertz deserves credit for his dummy in the build-up to the winning goal, the assist went to Tzolis, who leads all players for assists in Europe's top 10 leagues since the start of last season (24, ahead of Bruno Fernandes on 22).