Arsenal’s pedigree as defending Premier League champions faced its first big test of the season, with the Gunners hosting title aspirants and big spenders Chelsea on the third matchday.
It is not often that games built up with such hype and expectations live up to their billing, but Arsenal’s ۲-۱ win over Chelsea certainly delivered on Sunday.
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Breathless action, sub-plots galore and a total of ۹۹ minutes and ۳۵ seconds of edge-of-your-seat football drama.
We may only be three rounds into the marathon ۳۸-game Premier League season, but it was the first real test of the credentials for Arsenal and new-look Chelsea after their $۴۷۳m summer outlay.
Here are five things we learned from the featured clash at the Emirates.
Arsenal’s defence: Injuries? No problem
What do you get when you pit arguably the league’s meanest defence against one of its most exciting new attacks? The scoreline might suggest it was a close game, but in reality, it wasn’t.
Chelsea did muster ۱۳ shots on goal, but eight of those came from outside the box, and they combined for an expected goals statistic of ۰.۳۵. The Blues had just ۲۵ touches inside the Arsenal penalty area.
Of the ۳۰ Premier League games played among all ۲۰ teams so far, Arsenal have now recorded three of the four lowest totals of expected goals scored against them.
Arsenal’s defensive prowess was even more impressive in the absence of their first-choice defenders William Saliba and Jurrien Timber, who played at least ۳۰ games each in their team’s title-winning run last season. In their absence, defensive options Cristhian Mosquera, Piero Hincapie and Ezri Konsa have all fared admirably.
As a result, Arsenal have won their opening three league games this season while conceding fewer than two goals for the third time ever.
They will hope the omens follow the ۲۰۰۳-۰۴ season, when they finished as unbeaten champions, rather than the ۱۹۲۴-۲۵ season, when they ultimately ended up in ۲۰th.
Attacking from the flanks
With young defender Jurrien Timber sidelined following groin surgery, Ben White has filled in at right-back in the opening three games of the campaign. He has also filled Timber’s big attacking boots in addition to keeping things tight at the back.
A whopping ۴۷ percent of Arsenal’s attacks against Chelsea came down the right flank occupied by White and Bukayo Saka.
As busy as Riccardo Calafiori and Christos Tzolis were on the wings, only ۲۸ percent of Arsenal’s attacks came down their left flank, with only ۲۵ percent coming through the middle of the park, occupied by Declan Rice, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Martin Odegaard.
Timber being back in full training and potentially back in action within days is a boost to Mikel Arteta, but White’s form means the Gunners’ manager can afford to take his time in bringing Timber back into the fray.
Havertz and Gyokeres lead the charge
Only David Raya, Gabriel and White have played more minutes for Arsenal across the opening three games than Kai Havertz.
After back-to-back ۹۰ minutes, the German came off with ۱۲ minutes remaining against Chelsea, allowing Viktor Gyokeres his first minutes of action in the league.
The Swede was heavily linked with a move away from the Emirates in the transfer window, but in the end, teammate Gabriel Jesus made the switch to Barcelona instead, and actually made his debut off the bench at Valencia at the exact same time his former team were hosting Chelsea.
Gyokeres understandably looked rusty; a heavy early touch on the left flank allowed Maxence Lacroix the chance to break up an attack, but he warmed to the task and produced a wonderful flick on halfway to launch another counter.
Meanwhile, Havertz had ۱۰ touches in the opposition box in ۷۸ minutes, the first time he’s reached double figures in a Premier League match since January ۲۰۲۵ – a run of ۱۹ appearances. He also picked up his fourth goal against his former club in nine appearances in league and cup, six of which have now ended in Arsenal wins with the other three drawn.
Havertz clearly wants to keep a grip on his starting forward role.
Odegaard’s influence grows
After a stellar World Cup run with Norway, Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s renaissance has continued.
The ۲۷-year-old might have lifted the Premier League trophy last May, but his influence on the season as a whole was far less obvious. He started just ۲۴ Premier League games and played a total of ۱,۳۷۱ minutes – sixth among Gunners midfielders.
His goal against Chelsea was, however, his third in four appearances across all competitions this season – this after netting just once in ۳۶ outings last term – and he once again proved the vital cog in Arsenal’s attack in a Player of the Match performance.
Are Chelsea a force to be reckoned with?
Well, it certainly looks like a step in the right direction. On the evidence of the opening three games, a new-look Chelsea look like top-four contenders once again.
The Blues finished nine places and ۳۳ points adrift of Arsenal last season, but had it not been for a flying David Raya save from Estevao’s rasping late shot, they might have snatched a point at the home of the champions in just their third game under Xabi Alonso.
There are problems for the Spaniard to solve as Chelsea have now gone ۱۹ league games without a clean sheet, and despite the attacking threat of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers, they created an expected goals tally of just ۰.۳۵ across ۹۰ minutes.
However, Chelsea fans can be optimistic as they are the first team in Premier League history to score inside the opening five minutes in each of their first three games of the season.
The five-time champions also showed innovation and bravery to nullify the threat of set-piece specialists Arsenal by restricting them to just five corners in total.
The Blues sent four players upfield from their own box before the corner was taken, dragging Arsenal players with them and sending one man out to try and charge down the kick.
