The Premier League champions gave nothing away, and the Emirates Stadium witnessed a true display of dominance. In the toughest test of their season so far, Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1, maintaining their perfect record of three wins in three games and joining Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
The London derby began with a cold start for the Gunners. Just two minutes in, Morgan Rogers volleyed a shot from the edge of the box past David Raya to put Chelsea ahead. However, Mikel Arteta’s team reacted with the composure of a champion. After shifting the momentum and pinning the “Blues”—who had previously threatened with a shot off the post by Pedro Neto—against the wall, Kai Havertz proved why he’s a former Chelsea player, finishing with class in the 25th minute to tie the game.
In the second half, Martin Odegaard completed the comeback in the 50th minute, capitalizing on a loose ball in the box to fire the ball into the net with clinical precision. Although first-time manager Xabi Alonso pushed his team forward and even saw youngster Estevão come close to equalizing in the closing minutes after a miraculous save by Raya, Chelsea suffered its first setback of the Alonso era.
“It was a great battle against a top-tier opponent. Conceding so early is never ideal, but the team’s reaction was top-notch,” said an elated Odegaard after the victory.
Manchester United made fools of themselves
On the other hand, Manchester United once again put on a defensive spectacle, drawing 2-2 on the road at Everton despite having led twice.
The “Red Devils” took the lead with a shot by Bryan Mbeumo after halftime, but Tyrique George equalized in the 83rd minute. Just when it seemed Benjamin Sesko had secured the three points for the visitors with a precise header in the 88th minute, United’s defense faltered once again. In the sixth minute of stoppage time, debutant Ainsley Maitland-Niles unleashed a long-range strike straight into the top corner that left goalkeeper Senne Lammens frozen in his tracks.
With just one win in three matches and having conceded two goals per game so far this season, manager Michael Carrick made no secret of his disappointment: “This feels like a total defeat.” While Arsenal confirms that its crown won’t come cheap, at Old Trafford the specter of instability threatens to ruin the season very early on.