Havertz and Odegaard fire Arsenal past Chelsea

Arsenal spent close to £200 million on new signings this summer but did not land the elite forward many expected, yet the reigning champions have started the season as strongly as they finished their title-winning campaign. After wins over Coventry City and Aston Villa, they came from behind to beat big-spending Chelsea 2–1 in a pulsating London derby, thanks to goals from two familiar faces: Kai Havertz and captain Martin Odegaard.

Perfect start, familiar scorers

Arsenal are one of only two clubs with a maximum nine points from three games, alongside Manchester City, and have conceded just once so far. Against Chelsea, they had to find a different way to win after £117 million signing Morgan Rogers fired the visitors into a second‑minute lead.

Havertz equalised in the 25th minute—his third goal in four appearances this season and his fourth against his former club for Arsenal—before Odegaard scored the 50th‑minute winner, latching onto Christos Tzolis’ pass after Havertz’s clever dummy.

Odegaard back to his best

Odegaard has already netted three goals in four appearances across all competitions this term, after scoring only once in 36 games last season. “Our mentality is to keep fighting. We have shown that many times,” he said. “We never want to concede early, but the reaction is top. We got our reward in the end and the response was brilliant.”

Havertz praised his captain’s resurgence: “He’s an unbelievable player… This season, I think he’s back to his best. I think he’s going to help us a lot this season.” Ashley Young added that Odegaard’s form will be key for Arsenal: “He’s just a joy to watch… The connection down the right side between him, Bukayo Saka and Havertz—it’s just good to see when you’ve got players that know each other.”

‘Arsenal are a powerhouse’

Former Premier League winner Chris Sutton said Arsenal remain ahead of their rivals despite heavy spending elsewhere. “They’re such a powerhouse… Can you stop Arsenal? I don’t think they can,” he told BBC Sport. Arsenal have now won eight league games in a row stretching back to last season and have matched their best-ever defensive start to a top‑flight campaign (one goal conceded in three games), a feat previously achieved in 1924–25 and the Invincibles’ 2003–04 season.

What’s next

Having seen off Chelsea, Arsenal launch their Champions League campaign at Napoli on Wednesday before a league trip to Sunderland on Saturday. Havertz said the win over his old club boosts confidence heading to Italy: “Chelsea have an amazing squad, but so do we… We believed in ourselves and changed the game around.”