Arsenal had already seen Chelsea land the first blow inside two minutes, or after 77 seconds as one account put it, before Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard bent the game back their way in Arsenal vs Chelsea. Morgan Rogers had given Chelsea that early lead, but Arsenal found space between the lines and on the right side of their attack, then used it to turn a bad opening into a controlled derby win.
Havertz's roaming role
Havertz was the key adjustment. He kept drifting away from the front line and toward the right side, and Chelsea did not track that movement well enough. His equaliser in the 25th minute came from that pattern, with Kai Havertz stepping into the game rather than waiting for it to come to him.
The rating reflects how much Arsenal leaned on him. Havertz finished with an 8.2, the best mark on the home side, and Declan Rice's only assist came on that goal. Arsenal did not need a barrage of chances. They needed one player to keep dragging Chelsea's shape out of line, and Havertz did that.
Odegaard took over after the break
Martin Ødegaard then gave Arsenal the lead in the 50th minute and matched Havertz with an 8.2 rating. That is the clearest sign of where the game swung after half-time. Once Chelsea were forced to defend deeper, Arsenal could build through their captain and keep the ball in the areas that hurt them most early on.
Chelsea's start still deserves mention. Morgan Rogers had scored early, and Chelsea have now scored four set-piece goals in three Premier League games. They look capable of causing problems, especially at the start of matches. But this derby was decided by how Arsenal adjusted after the opening burst, not by the opening burst itself.
Arsenal are now 10 games unbeaten against Chelsea in the Premier League, and that run now includes a game where the visitors struck first and still could not hold the advantage. Arteta's side will take that into their next league outing with the momentum from a derby they controlled once Havertz and Ødegaard started finding the right pockets.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
