Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Gunners hold on as Havertz, Odegaard shine

Here’s an excerpt from our own Joe-Prince Wright’s observations from North London, where he noted Austin MacPhee’s prime role in Chelsea’s opening goal.

“Alonso sat down to allow MacPhee to stand in the technical area to set up the free kick. He positioned Chelsea’s players in two bunches and had Rogers and Palmer floating around the edge of the box to make the most of any knockdowns. It worked a treat. Chelsea also often left four players up for Arsenal’s corners, which caused the Gunners problems and meant they weren’t as dangerous from those situations and were also worried about being countered. These are the small margins which will help Chelsea become at least top four contenders this season.”

“He’s a really smart player,” Odegaard said. “He moves so well and takes attention from the defenders.”

Both players off-ball work helped produce the other’s goals, and their connection is arguably why the Gunners are 3-0-0.

Odegaard and Havertz were magic makers and showed superb understanding of each other’s movements in abrilliant win for the Gunners.

There are some nerves among the home fans here with just under 10 minutes to go.

Arsenal have made a lot of subs and the game has become very scrappy.

Chelsea have had a few chances on the counter and from set pieces but haven’t been able to connect the final pass or make the most of decent shooting positions.

The Gunners will fancy their chances of grabbing another goal on the counter, but Chelsea are still in this.

It feels like there is one more goal in this...

Havertz and Odegaard exit as Mikel Merino and Viktor Gyokeres bid to help the Gunners see this one out.

The hour mark saw Malo Gusto and Pep Chavarria introduced for Lavia and Hato.

Arsenal followed by bringing in Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi for Calafiori and Lewis-Skelly.

Wow. Just wow. The noise is incredible inside this stadium.

Arsenal’s fans are belting out “Champions of England, we know what we are!” to taunt the Chelsea supporters.

They respond with “Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that!” but it is pretty much drowned out.

Arsenal are pushing for a third goal now. Chelsea just can’t handle the movement and direct running of Arsenal’s forwards and midfielders.

The home side do have to be careful of counter attacks though.

Oh, this is about as influential an incisive dummy as you’ll see this month.

Tzolis drives in from the left and hits a pass toward Kai Havertz.

Chelsea’s back has to respect Havertz, so the German’s lifting of his leg means Martin Odegaard is able to run onto a high xG chance.

He does not miss it.

Pedro Neto hits the post in first half stoppage time, and this is anyone’s contest.

Arsenal have controlled the ball and showed some sensational football but Chelsea are happy to counter attack.

The Gunners are out-attempting the Blues 10-6 and have 58% possession.

Lovely play to set Pedro Neto free on the counter and that is a wonderful run and shot from him.

Arsenal look vulnerable on the counter.

Chelsea know it.

We head into a minimum of four minutes’ stoppage time after Cole Palmer was shown a yellow card for tussling with a counter-attacking Kai Havertz, who found the grass with enthusiasm.

Kai Havertz has been drifting out to the right wing a lot to create overloads and it worked perfectly for his goal.

He cuts inside and nobody closes him down. Chelsea have a lot of defenders back there but they aren’t getting close enough to runners and are marking space instead.

Havertz has a couple of yards for the shot and he squeezes it in at the near post. Emiliano Martinez won’t want to see that one back.

Chelsea have had a few pops from distance from Palmer and James, but it has been pretty much all Arsenal since that early Rogers goal.

This place is bouncing. Arsenal’s fans are right behind them.

“Champions of England, we know what we are!” sing the Arsenal fans.

What an exquisite finish.

Havertz gets an incisive pass, uses a teammate as a foil, and cuts a low shot through Lacroix’s legs to find a modicum of space inside Martinez’s near post.

1-1 in the 25th minute.

Reece James has a go at one end, then Arsenal go the other way.

Kai Havertz’s back heel lay off is blocked by Chelsea, who go the other way.

Joao Pedro can’t get on the end of Cole Palmer’s wanded pass to the back post.

Breathless stuff.

This game is buzzing.

Arsenal are working the ball with electricity and accuracy in the Chelsea third, and Bukayo Saka gets 1v1 with Martinez.

The ex-Villa (and ex-Arsenal) keeper stands tall to block the shot.

Arsenal have had plenty of big chances to equalize since going behind with VAR chalking that goal off, correctly, for offside.

Bukayo Saka is getting in dangerous positions and was denied by Emiliano Martinez, while Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard are dragging Chelsea’s defense around.

There are so many gaps in this Chelsea defensive unit which is swapping between a flat back four and a back three often.

Arsenal are overloading on the right side to support Saka and it is causing Chelsea a lot of problems.

Riccardo Calafiori slaps in a low rebound after a great save by Emi Martinez, but VAR has a long look at a wild scrum and finds Ezri Konsa offside.

A couple guys may have been honestly, but they only needed one.

Morgan Rogers looked set to join Arsenal for most of this summer.

Now he’s just scored a beauty against them to give Chelsea an early 1-0 lead.

The Emirates was stunned as Rogers’ volley found the bottom corner and he controlled it so well.

But from my vantage point in the stands you could see this was no accident.

Xabi Alonso sat down to allow Austin MacPhee, Chelsea’s new set-piece coach who worked wonders with Aston Villa in recent years, to be the coach in the technical area.

He was setting everything up meticulously and pointing exactly where he wanted it. I was sat right behind him.

The initial delivery from Reece James was really good and Chelsea did so well to keep that ball alive. But Rogers’ positioning was no accident.

MacPhee is a set-piece guru for a reason.

Arsenal corner kicks are dangerous and the Gunners want a penalty after Bukayo Saka was clipped chasing a loose ball in the box.

Saka had just arrived from an offside position having sent in the corner, and VAR will not change anything.

Chelsea’s keeper is being tended to by trainers after an unholy scrum near his post.

The passage ended with Martinez collecting the ball then losing it after Gabriel Magalhaes kicked at the ball and caught the keeper in the head.

Both players were prone and Gabriel is fortunate to escape discipline. VAR appreciates the moment a lot more than most refs in any game you’ve ever played!

Wow.... some start here!

Reece James’ free kick is knocked back into the fray by Maxence Lacroix. A second 50:50 is won by Jorell Hato back toward Morgan Rogers.

The one-time Arsenal target then half-volleys a low spinning ball inside the post from outside the box!

I was just walking through the concourses at the Emirates, where the Arsenal fans were watching the final seconds of Everton vs Manchester United on the many TV screens.

They went absolutely bonkers as Ainsley Maitland-Niles, an Arsenal academy product, curled home a stunner on his Everton debut to make it 2-2 late on.

Chants of “Arsenal, Arsenal!” followed.

That goal grabbed Everton a point in a thrilling 2-2 draw against Manchester United.

Anyway, back to this huge London derby here...

Here are the confirmed starting lineups for Arsenal against Chelsea.

Tzolis starts on the left despite Eze coming on in his place at half time at Aston Villa. Ezri Konsa is at center back with Mosquera out, as he makes his first start for the Gunners.

Chelsea bring Josh Acheampong in at the back, as he could slot in as the third center back in Colwill’s place or it could be a flat back four.

Reece James starts in center mid alongside Romeo Lavia.

Arsenal starting lineup

Raya; White, Konsa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz

Chelsea starting lineup

Martinez; Acheampong, Lacroix, Fofana; Neto, James, Lavia, Hato; Palmer, Rogers; Joao Pedro

How will Arteta line up his team? Will Bruno Guimaraes and Declan Rice both feature in the midfield?

We’ll find out in about 15 minutes, while Chelsea’s midfield is just as interesting in the first game since Enzo Fernandez left for Man City.

For so long it seemed like Chelsea had Arsenal’s number.

That has flipped dramatically in recent years.

Arsenal are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League games against Chelsea, winning six of those.

Mikel Arteta’s side have been solid and consistent in recent years, while the constant chopping and changing of managers and players at Chelsea has led to so many topsy-turvy campaigns.

With Arteta’s friend Xabi Alonso now in charge, will Chelsea follow Arsenal’s model of being solid and stubborn?

Probably not, but they do look like being more of a serious threat in the years to come.

Can we expect a thriller with plenty of goals?

Will Arsenal be too much for Chelsea?

Can Chelsea show some defensive solidity?

Below myself and Nick Mendola break things down and share our Arsenal vs Chelsea score predictions.

We are both expecting the same outcome, but with very different scores...

Chelsea have scored seven goals in their opening two games in the league under Xabi Alonso. But they’ve conceded five and been on the right end of five and seven goal thrillers.

Going forward they’ve been exceptional with Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer leading the charge. But at the other end the pressing has been off, the gaps too large and the balance is off between defense and attacking.

Alonso will be happy his team are creating tons of chances. But he has to find a way to make them a bit more pragmatic without losing that electric and fluid attack.

Having the likes of Pedro Neto as a right wing-back is very adventurous but should that be happening against a team like Arsenal, who will pin Chelsea in for long periods? Probably not.

It will be interesting to see if we get a bit more pragmatism from Alonso’s Chelsea today.

Of course, it will take time for his players to learn his system but the early signs are good. They just need to build on the lessons they’ve learned in defense and improve their defensive shape and pressing.

The quality is there. Now it’s about finding the right balance all over the pitch.

Some Arsenal fans are disappointed and wanted the Gunners to go big and sign a superstar left winger in the transfer window. But it didn’t work out. It happens.

What’s all the fuss about?

Arsenal have a stacked squad and even a few injuries to Jurrien Timber and William Saliba isn’t really impacting them.

Mikel Arteta’s side didn’t get Vinicius Junior, the money Chelsea paid Aston Villa for Morgan Rogers was deemed to be too much, while a couple of other options didn’t happen. They tried to sign another forward but they are well stocked in that area even after some outgoings.

Moving on Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli this summer was needed to free up wages and freshen things up, while Christos Tzolis came in and has looked bright and the likes of Eberechi Eze has also looked bright on the left and Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz can also play there too.

Bringing in Ezri Konsa and Bruno Guimaraes is huge for depth, experience and leadership and Arsenal’s squad is stronger than at the start of the summer. And it still has room for youngsters Myles Lewis-Skelly and Max Dowman to get serious minutes.

Not splashing the cash on a marquee left winger this summer means Arsenal will have plenty of money to spend in January or next summer on a player they really want and one that will make the difference.

Arsenal’s fans should urge each other to have a bit more patience. Over the last few years Arsenal simply haven’t missed in transfer dealings.