Arsenal are playing with more freedom and much of that is down to the form of Sunday’s match-winner against Chelsea, Martin Odegaard.
Odegaard is back to his very best after a fruitful World Cup with Norway and it was his strike that earned Arsenal a very big win against their London rivals, even at this stage of the season.
Chelsea have started the campaign in blistering form, becoming the first team in Premier League history to score in the first five minutes of their opening three Premier League games when former Arsenal target Morgan Rogers volleyed past David Raya after only 77 seconds.
It was a sublime finish that Raya will be unhappy with, having been beaten at his near post after shifting his body weight towards the far post, with the goal coming from a set-piece against the set-piece experts.
In a game that had Austin MacPhee and Nicolas Jover’s dirty fingerprints all over it, Arsenal thought they had equalised through their own set-piece, but no one would have been more relieved than Joao Pedro after his failed clearance led to a melee in the six-yard box, which ultimately ended with Riccardo Calafiori scoring.
The goal did not stand as Ezri Konsa was in an offside position when he poked the ball against the post, something Gary Neville on co-comms never realised had happened until the 427th replay.
“He’s not interfering,” Neville proclaimed, before feeling rather silly. “Apologies to VAR and the PGMOL” was a hilarious quip from an in-form Neville, who delivered three trademark noises in the opening 12 minutes of the contest.
Arsenal’s equaliser did come via ex-Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, who extended his terrific record against his former employers, making it four goals in seven games.
It was another wonderful finish that Emiliano Martinez – the ultimate Emirates pantomime villain – couldn’t quite reach at his front post, and not the sort of goal you usually see from the big German, cutting in on his left foot and shooting hard and low from outside the penalty area.
The first half was simply brilliant to watch. A fine Advert For The Premier League, if you will. But it was the period in between the two goals that brought the most joy.
Arsenal were a team possessed and Chelsea, who’d already shown their intentions with their early goal and commitment to throwing defenders forward for set-pieces, looked extremely dangerous every time they attacked.
The Blues have been devastating in attack under Alonso but, ironically, have played the majority of their 2026/27 football off the ball, averaging 32% possession in their opening two Premier League games before surrendering even more of the ball against the champions, understandably.
Chelsea scoring early was the best possible outcome from a spectacle point of view. Arsenal played on the front foot from 77 seconds after the first whistle and how open the game was ensured there were no doubts over the status of Mikel Arteta’s handbrake.
When the equaliser came, the pace did drop a little, but it was still fun. And when Arsenal took the lead through captain Martin Odegaard five minutes after the restart, there was a chance the pace would drop even more as Arsenal played the game on their ‘boring’ terms, but that didn’t happen.
That was great news for those watching and also the right thing from a tactical standpoint; Chelsea were there for the taking and Arsenal were purring, though the Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer counter-attacking threat was always there.
There was a ten-minute period of further dominance from Arsenal and the visitors did weather the storm before enjoying some rare sustained possession. Arteta’s response was to add more control and ensure his players turned to doing what they do best: control the game and defend like dogs.
Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi’s introductions underlined Arteta’s intentions, but with his front three untouched, you still fancied them to finish their London rivals off.
A huge part of Arsenal’s ability to control the pace, slow things down and keep Chelsea constantly thinking was there from the start in Odegaard.
Odegaard’s form since the start of the World Cup has been frightening and the fact he has carried his Norway form into the Premier League season is incredibly exciting and makes this Arsenal team a completely different proposition.
He is confident, composed, scoring goals, seemingly playing with a three-touch restriction and making things tick beautifully in the middle of the park. After emerging as one of the best playmakers in Europe in 2021/22 and 2022/23, Odegaard’s domestic form has really fallen off a cliff. Injury and fitness issues have been a true hindrance and, for the first time in a while, he looks fully fit. A fully fit Odegaard is operating like the heartbeat Arteta wants him to be, and what we have seen so far this season hints towards a PFA Player of the Year tilt.
It raised Neville’s eyebrows when he was substituted alongside Havertz in the 78th minute. And it had the same effect here. They were Arsenal’s two best players up to that point, but with so long left this season, Arteta obviously remains wary of burning his captain out, which, given Odegaard’s form, would be a disaster and change quite a lot of what is good about 2026/27 Arsenal.
And 2026/27 Arsenal are looking very good. Defensively, they are as sound as ever. David Raya is still scarily commanding and excelling distribution-wise. But the biggest thing is seeing the attacking players thrive, with players like Calafiori at left-back given more licence to get further up the pitch.
After finally getting over the line last season, Arsenal are playing with much more freedom. Christos Tzolis looks electrifying, Bukayo Saka is back among the goals, Havertz looks like a seriously good No.9 and, most significantly, Odegaard is shining.
Chelsea still look like capable title contenders to Arsenal and, while there is a long way to go and Sunday’s result doesn’t mean too much in the title race, a 2-1 win for Arsenal coupled with an excellent and ambitious performance at both ends shows that there are still some levels between these two London rivals.