Arsenal conceded after 77 seconds, and it is still the only goal they have let in

Chelsea had been at the Emirates for 77 seconds when Morgan Rogers volleyed them in front, and a full house went very quiet very quickly. Arsenal had not conceded a goal all season. They still have not conceded a second. Kai Havertz levelled on 25 minutes, Martin Odegaard settled it five minutes into the second half, and the champions came out of a genuinely difficult Sunday night with a 2-1 win and a perfect record intact.

The one goal Arsenal have let in

It came from a set piece they never dealt with. Reece James swung a free-kick in deep, Declan Rice’s header did not clear the box, and Odegaard was second to the loose ball. Rogers was waiting on the edge of the area and hit the volley back across David Raya, who got down late.

Three games in, that is the only goal on Arsenal’s ledger: six scored, one conceded. The awkward part for Mikel Arteta is who scored it. Rogers was Arsenal’s number one target in the summer window. They valued him at around £90 million and would not go far past it, and Chelsea went to a British record 117 million pounds and took him from Aston Villa. He needed two minutes of a London derby to hand Arsenal their only blemish of the season.

Havertz keeps doing this to Chelsea

His equaliser was a solo job. Havertz picked the ball up wide on the right, ran it infield through very little resistance, and drove a low shot through the legs of Maxence Lacroix that beat Emiliano Martinez at the near post. It was his third Premier League goal against the club he left in 2023, and no side has conceded more to him in the competition than Chelsea have.

The winner was cleverer. Christos Tzolis collected possession wide and slipped a pass into the box that Havertz deliberately let run through his legs, and the dummy left the Chelsea back line looking at the wrong man. Odegaard arrived behind him and lashed it in on 50 minutes.

Chelsea were not the pushovers the last four visits suggested

Xabi Alonso’s side had lost their previous four league games at this ground and been picked apart doing it. This was different. Joao Pedro slid in at the back post and missed Cole Palmer’s cross by inches. Pedro Neto cut in from the right before half-time and struck the post. Substitute Estevao curled one towards the far corner in the second half that Raya reached with one hand.

Arsenal had their own escapes and their own frustrations. Riccardo Calafiori put the ball in the net during a goalmouth scramble before VAR found Ezri Konsa offside somewhere inside it. Martinez, in the other goal, made two good saves from Bukayo Saka, the second of them clawing a shot away from just inside the far post.

What Alonso said

“It hurts. It hurts because a defeat has to hurt,” Alonso told Sky Sports. “It’s game three and this is going to be a long, long ride.” He pointed at the right side of his defence as the thing to fix, saying the overloads there needed controlling.

Arteta was happier and slightly relieved. “It wasn’t the right start but we certainly reacted in an amazing way,” he said. “I enjoyed the way we competed. We took risks, it was a joy to watch.”

The table after three

Arsenal are on nine points from three games and sit second only because Manchester City have scored one goal more. Hull City, of all clubs, are third on seven. Chelsea drop to fourth on six, with eight scored and seven conceded, and Alonso is still waiting for a clean sheet in a league game under his management.

Arsenal are at Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday.

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