In a brilliant watch for the neutral, Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea on Sunday, with Martin Odegaard (£6.6m) and Kai Havertz (£7.5m) on the scoresheet.
Here are our Scout Notes from the match.
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ODEGAARD “GREAT”
In a superb display, Odegaard put Arsenal ahead early in the second-half.
The Norwegian has now scored three goals in four appearances in all competitions this season, having netted only once in 36 matches in 2025/26.
A major factor in this improvement has been his willingness to break into the box whenever possible.
In fact, in the first three Gameweeks, he’s racked up 13 penalty box touches (5.29 per 90). That’s just three fewer than Bukayo Saka (£9.5m).
For context, he averaged only 2.44 penalty box touches per 90 in the Premier League last season.
“First of all, he feels fit and confidence-wise, it’s the highest I’ve seen him. He has a point to prove from last season as well, from missing so much football. Kai [Havertz] is the same; Bukayo [Saka] is the same. We missed so many attacking players last season for long, long periods – I’m not sure how many games they played together last season, but probably not many.
“When you start to feel the chemistry they have between them and what they can produce, it’s great. But for me, he gets to that point because he’s enjoying his football. You have to enjoy what you do, to play with real intent, and that’s what I saw today. He was running forward; he took shots, created so many situations for his teammates – he was great.” – Mikel Arteta on Martin Odegaard
ARTETA ON HAVERTZ AND TZOLIS
Arsenal’s other attackers stepped up, too.
Havertz netted the equaliser by beating Emiliano Martinez (£5.0m) at the near post, before Christos Tzolis (£6.5m) supplied the assist for Odegaard’s strike, which was brilliantly dummied by the German.
Havertz led the line for the third straight match here and put in an excellent shift, with three shots and three chances created.
“He looks happy. He looks settled, happy, and some great things have happened in his personal life as well. He feels fit, he’s training every day and has this routine right now. He’s scoring goals, but not only that – he’s also doing amazing work for the team.” – Mikel Arteta on Kai Havertz
Tzolis meanwhile kept his place on the left wing ahead of Eberechi Eze (£6.4m). And after a slow-ish start, he grew into the game.
“He was unreal again. He has been showing that, the level of threat, the work rate and his decision making are phenomenal to watch.” – Mikel Arteta on Christos Tzolis
Bukayo Saka (£9.5m) was also a constant threat and unlucky not to score.
It’s also important to mention that Riccardo Calafiori (£5.7m) had a goal disallowed, with Ezri Konsa (£4.4m) in an offside position. He was later subbed off in the 66th minute.
KONSA IN, MOSQUERA OUT
Konsa made his full debut for Arsenal on Sunday, as he replaced Cristhian Mosquera (£5.5m).
Mikel Arteta had previously insisted that Mosquera’s withdrawal at Villa Park in Gameweek 2 “was more a precaution than anything else”. However, he failed to even make the matchday squad here.
“He had a muscular issue, and we think it’s not too much. But we need to wait and see the next few days for how it evolves.” – Mikel Arteta on Cristhian Mosquera
In his absence, Konsa had a really solid game and banked more defensive contributions (DefCon) than any other Arsenal player.
ROGERS ON TARGET
Overall, Xabi Alonso will probably be pretty pleased with Chelsea’s performance.
While Martinez should have done better for Havertz’s equaliser, the away side carried a threat in north London, despite their low expected goals (xG).
Morgan Rogers (£7.6m) opened the scoring with a first-time volley after just two minutes. He later curled an effort narrowly wide.
The former Aston Villa man has now produced an attacking return in each of Chelsea’s first three Premier League matches.
There were blanks – and bookings – for Cole Palmer (£9.6m) and Joao Pedro (£7.7m), although Pedro Neto (£6.5m) did hit the post from the latter’s superb pass.
A late Estevao (£6.4m) strike was brilliantly saved, too.
“It was never going to be a game to create 12 opportunities. They are hard to beat, they are hard to create chances [against], but we had three, four chances to score more than one goal. This is a process. It’s still early days for us.
“We want to start having clean sheets, they will come. The players are committed to working hard, to knowing that we’re on the way to compete in each game. Not happy that we couldn’t get anything but we need to keep calm and carry on.” – Xabi Alonso
As for Arsenal, they’ve conceded only 0.89 expected goals (xG) across the first three Gameweeks, the lowest of any team. They’ve also faced the fewest shots, with 24.
WHY COLWILL WAS BENCHED, CAICEDO LATEST
Chelsea’s starting XI showed two changes from the win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Reece James (£5.4m) replaced Malo Gusto (£5.0m) in the middle of the park, while Josh Acheampong (£4.5m) was picked over Levi Colwill (£4.9m) in the back three.
Alonso later said that Colwill was only fit enough for the bench, as he has had “little things during the week”.
Elsewhere, Moises Caicedo (£5.4m) missed out, having come off injured in Gameweek 2.
“It is not long-term but it’s about assessing the risk. Probably, last week, we took him too early and I don’t want to make the same mistake again.” – Xabi Alonso on Moises Caicedo
Wesley Fofana (£5.0m) played in Colwill’s position on the left of the back three and racked up 17 DefCons.
MATCH ANALYSIS
