Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in the first real major Premier League heavyweight clash of the new campaign - in an early contender for game of the season.

2026/2027 Premier League

2-1

Match Report

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.

A captain's goal  pic.twitter.com/ooOi928NE3

— Premier League (@premierleague) September 6, 2026

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).

𝐀𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝟐-𝟏 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐚

Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea in the Premier League for the first time since October 2011 (5-3).

For Chelsea, it's just the second time in the Premier League that they've lost five successive away games to a specific team. pic.twitter.com/42YCHeeeZc

— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) September 6, 2026

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).

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

2' GOAL! Rogers latches on to a pass and produces a perfect strike into the net! Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea

5' Odegaard tries to find Calafiori, but he puts too much power on the through ball

6' Emi Martinez is clearly asking for some medical attention with his painful gestures

9' Saka finds himself beyond the last defender, but the game is stopped as the linesman signals offside

12' The goal by Calafiori is DISALLOWED on the advice of the video assistant referee due to an offside


14' Joao Pedro receives a yellow card as he kicks the ball away after the ref blows his whistle


16' Havertz leaps high and targets his header towards the net, but Emi makes an easy save

17' Saka gets inside the penalty area and sends a powerful shot, but Emi is alert and makes a good save

19' Ben White sends a cross into the box, but Lacroix clears the ball with a slide tackle

20' Havertz collects a pass from the flank and fires in a goal-bound shot which canons off a defender

22' Havertz plays the ball for Odegaard with his back-heel, but the following attempt is blocked

23' Reece James receives a pass and finds some space for a shot, but the keeper denies his attempt

25' GOAL! Havertz produces a precise strike to beat the goalkeeper! Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea

30' Saka shows off his magnetic dribbling skill, but Lavia committs a foul to stop him

31' Rogers receives a pass inside the box, but he rifles the ball wide of the right post

36' Palmer makes a reckless foul in order to win the ball from his opponent

37' Joao Pedro tries his luck from a distance, but his effort goes wide of the left post

45' Cole Palmer takes his opponent down and receives a yellow card from the referee

45' Ben White tries to send a cross, but Lavia is in the position to clear the ball

48' OFF THE POST! Neto skips past two defenders and unleashes a decent strike that smashes the left post

50' GOAL! Odegaard latches on to a perfect pass and fires into the roof of the net! Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea


58' Maxence Lacroix is booked yellow for his blatant foul on Tzolis

60' Gusto and Chavarria replace Lavia and Hato

63' Palmer collects a pass and directs his shot towards the net, but Raya makes an easy save

67' Zubimendi and Calafiori walk off the pitch to be replaced by Lewis-Skelly and Hincapie

69' Saka curls his effort towards the net, but Emi denies the shot with a diving save

70' Havertz's header following the set piece is intercepted by one of the defending players

72' Havertz gets to a rebound inside the box, but his shot is saved by Emi

76' Reece James fires a rocket shot towards the goal, but Gabriel is in the right position to clear it

78' Havertz and Odegaard go off the pitch as Gyokeres and Merino come on

81' Neto is replaced by Estêvão

83' Rogers picks up a yellow card for talking out of turn to the referee after Rice's harsh tackle



Line-ups

Arsenal XI: David Raya, Ødegaard, Rice, Ngoyo, Gabriel, Havertz, Ben White, Saka, Calafiori, Christos Tzolis, Lewis-Skelly

Subs: Kepa, Merino, Guimaraes, Viktor Gyökeres, Eberechi Eze, Martín Zubimendi, Madueke, Hincapie, Max Dowman

Chelsea XI: E. Martinez, Reece James, Pedro Neto, Maxence Lacroix, Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer, Wesley Fofana, João Pedro, Lavia, Jorrel Hato, Josh Acheampong

Subs: Welbeck, Pep Chavarría, Colwill, Gusto, Gittens, Valentín Barco, Mike Penders, Estêvão, Geovany Quenda