Football

Mikel Arteta got the better of his old childhood friend Xabi Alonso as goals from Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard led Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

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The defending Premier League champions remain perfect through the first three matches of the season after winning the first top-flight meeting between the two Spanish managers.

Morgan Rogers scored just over a minute into the match, stunning the Emirates crowd, but Arsenal would take control from there, sending waves of attacking pressure at the Chelsea back line when they wanted, while sitting back comfortably at other times.

Havertz leveled the score in the 25th minute and played a role in the winner from Odegaard shortly after halftime as well, dummying the ball from Christos Tzolis as it found the feet of the Arsenal captain.

The victory puts the Gunners level with Man City atop the Premier League standings as the only two clubs with the full nine points through the opening three games. Chelsea, meanwhile, suffer their first stumble after winning their previous two.

The Sporting News followed the match live, with updates, highlights and analysis from the pre-match festivities to the post-game interviews.

Arsenal vs. Chelsea final score

Location: Emirates Stadium (London, England)
Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Starting lineups:

Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): 1. D. Raya (GK) — 4. B. White, 15. E. Konsa, 6. Gabriel, 33. R. Calafiori (P. Hincapie, 67′) — 8. M. Odegaard (M. Merino, 78′), 41. D. Rice, 49. M. Lewis-Skelly (M. Zubimendi, 67′) — 7. B. Saka, 29. K. Havertz (V. Gyokeres, 78′), 17. C. Tzolis

Chelsea (3-4-2-1, right to left): 1. E. Martinez (GK) — 3. W. Fofana, 5. M. Lacroix, 34. J. Acheampong — 7. P. Neto (Estevao, 81′), 24. R. James, 45. R. Lavia (M. Gusto, 60′), 21. J. Hato (P. Chavarria, 60′) — 10. C. Palmer, 17. M. Rogers — 9. J. Pedro

Arsenal vs. Chelsea full match stats

Arsenal vs. Chelsea live updates, highlights from Premier League match

(All times ET)

FULLTIME: Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

It’s all over! The Gunners take the three points, and now sit alongside Man City as the only perfect teams in the Premier League through three matches.

Watch match highlights in Canada via Fubo:

Arsenal FC vs. Chelsea FC | PREMIER LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS | 09/06/2026 | Fubo Canada

Watch EVERY match EXCLUSIVELY on @FuboTVCanadahttps://t.co/2w98QqADfX#PL #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/hTNSoDFtzU

— FuboCanada 🇨🇦 (@fuboTVCanada) September 6, 2026

83rd min: Yellow card

1:15 p.m. — Morgan Rogers receives a yellow card for his aggressive reaction to an off-ball clip from his England teammate Declan Rice. The Arsenal midfielder seemed to just catch Rogers in the heel as he was running to play a one-two at pace, and Rogers got up very angrily into the face of Rice, pointing at him and saying «don’t do that.»

It was naughty from Rice, but hard to tell if it was intentional or not. Rogers comes out of it with a booking.

77th min: Substitution

1:09 p.m. — Arsenal’s two goal scorers, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard, both come off, replaced by Viktor Gyokeres and Mikel Merino, two competent goal scorers in their own right.

A few minutes later, Estevao came on to replace Pedro Neto out wide.

69th min: Chance, Arsenal!

1:01 p.m. — Bukayo Saka forces a massive save from Emi Martinez! He strikes a left-footed rocket on the turn, but can’t get it by the Chelsea goalkeeper who dives to parry it away from danger and out for a corner! That’s an excellent stop by the former Aston Villa star.

66th min: Substitution

12:58 p.m. — Arsenal now make a pair of changes as well, as Riccardo Calafiori and Myles Lewis-Skelly are replaced by Piero Hincapie and Martin Zubimendi. That’s a defensive double change for Mikel Arteta.

60th min: Substitution

12:52 p.m. — Chelsea make the first two changes of the match. Malo Gusto enters for Romeo Lavia, and Pep Chavarria enters to replace Jorrel Hato. That’s an interesting one, will Gusto play midfield?

58th min: Yellow card

12:51 p.m. — Maxence Lacroix gets a very harsh yellow card for taking down Christos Tzolis. There really wasn’t much in that tackle, and it didn’t stop a counter-attack. A little much from Chris Kavanagh there.

Tzolis is then booked for calling for a yellow card, another silly booking in this match, the first for Arsenal.

50th min: GOAL! ARSENAL!!!

12:42 p.m. — MARTIN ODEGAARD SLAMS HOME TO FINISH A BEAUTIFUL ARSENAL MOVE! THE HOSTS ARE IN FRONT!

Christos Tzolis dances down the left flank and fizzes a cross in towards Kai Havertz with his back to goal at the top of the penalty area. Havertz does the same back-heel move he did in the first half that wasted a chance, but this time it creates a goal. He doesn’t actually touch the ball, but pretends to push it towards Odegaard behind him, and the ball rolls to the Arsenal captain who smashes it into the back of the net from seven yards out!

Watch Odegaard goal in USA:

ARSENAL TAKE THE LEAD! MARTIN ØDEGAARD 🔥

An absolute beauty of a goal, set up perfectly by Christos Tzolis 🎯

🔴 Arsenal: 2
🔵 Chelsea: 1
⏱️ 50′ pic.twitter.com/WH2W8OV3El

— USA Sports (@usasports) September 6, 2026

HIGHLIGHT: Watch Odegaard goal in UK | Watch in Canada

2nd half kickoff

12:38 p.m. — They’re back under way for the second half, with the scoreline all square and neither side in line to win the match as it stands. No changes for either team at the moment, so we’ll see how things play out!

HALFTIME: Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea

12:21 p.m. — We’re level at the break in one of the more entertaining matches of the young Premier League season so far! There have been fireworks throughout, mostly thanks to Chelsea sneaking in front just over a minute into the match, which forced Arsenal out of their traditional shell.

That long spell of Arsenal attacking pressure worked out, and earned Kai Havertz an equaliser on 25 minutes. Since then, it’s been a bit more muted, but both sides have still displayed quality intent, and there promises to be more fireworks in the second half! Who will come out on top? It’s all still up for grabs!

45+3 min: Chance, Chelsea!

12:19 p.m. — PEDRO NETO HITS THE POST! He beats David Raya with a quick shot after a pacy counter-attack, but his effort slams into the woodwork and pings back out away from danger! Chelsea’s best chance by far since their early opener!

45th min: Yellow card

12:15 p.m. — Cole Palmer becomes the second Chelsea player booked as he hacks Kai Havertz down on the counter-attack.

40th min

12:11 p.m. — There’s not been a ton of goal mouth action since the Arsenal equaliser, but not for a lack of trying. Arsenal, for their part, have gone back to baseline after pulling back level and have allowed Chelsea to have more of the ball again. The Blues have looked to get Rogers back on the ball more again, with Cole Palmer repeatedly blanketed. Joao Pedro is heavily involved in the buildup, but hasn’t had many opportunities himself.

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Will either side jump in front before halftime?

25th min: GOAL! ARSENAL!!!

11:56 a.m. — KAI HAVERTZ MAKES AMENDS, AND FINDS THE BACK OF THE NET!

Just like Morgan Rogers did earlier in the match to David Raya, Havertz sneaks one past Emi Martinez at his near post, cutting inside along the top of the penalty area and slicing his shot with the left foot tucked inside the right stick! We’re level!

Watch Havertz goal in USA:

KAI HAVERTZ LEVELS IT 🚨

This London derby is DELIVERING! Havertz finishes it with precision for his third goal of the season 🎯

🔴 Arsenal: 1
🔵 Chelsea: 1
⏱️ 25’ pic.twitter.com/TTDFU3I9Ka

— USA Sports (@usasports) September 6, 2026

HIGHLIGHT: Watch Havertz goal in UK | Watch in Canada

23rd min: Chance, Arsenal!

11:54 a.m. — It has been all Arsenal since the early Chelsea goal, as they come up empty from chance after chance in front of goal. Most of them Chelsea defenders have blocked, but this time Kai Havertz has a massive opportunity to shoot with a good window of opportunity, but decides instead to back heel it to Martin Odegaard who has no opportunity to shoot, and his charging effort is blocked by a sliding defender. He has to shoot there!

14th min: Yellow card

11:44 a.m. — Joao Pedro picks up an extremely stupid yellow card for booting the ball away in anger after a foul is given away in midfield.

12th min: Goal disallowed!

11:42 a.m. — RICCARDO CALAFIORI HAS LEVELED THE MATCH! It comes, as you might imagine, on an Arsenal free-kick, and after the initial shot from Gabriel is saved by Emi Martinez, the ball isn’t cleared properly and Calafiori pokes it into the net! The goal is given!

However, on a VAR review, it does not survive! With the scramble right on the goal mouth, Ezri Konsa and Kai Havertz were both standing in an offside position on Gabriel’s initial shot, and the former makes a play on the ball before it reaches Calafiori.

6th min

11:36 a.m. — There’s a stoppage in play as the Chelsea medical staff checks Emi Martinez for what looks like a concussion as a near-post scramble off an Arsenal free-kick leaves the new Blues’ goalkeeper in a heap. Appears as if he took a kick by Joao Pedro to the face as multiple bodies were on the ground fighting for the ball.

He’s up and looks ok to continue for now.

2nd min: GOAL! CHELSEA!!!

11:32 a.m. — MORGAN ROGERS SCORES 76 SECONDS INTO THE MATCH! How on Earth has that gone past David Raya?!?!?!

After about four pings around the Arsenal area, Rogers snaps a sneaky shot from the top of the penalty area, and somehow Raya is horribly positioned to stop the effort, clearly surprised by the shot, diving in vain to reach the scuffed ball as it tucks inside the left post!

For such a defensively solid team like Arsenal, how has that gone in? The Blues are in front straight away, as the Gunners allow a goal for the first time this season!

Watch Rogers goal in USA:

OH MY MORGAN ROGERS 🚨

Just 77 seconds! Rogers wastes NO time putting the Blues in front ⚡️

🔴 Arsenal: 0
🔵 Chelsea: 1
⏱️ 2’ pic.twitter.com/1CDMosW7nZ

— USA Sports (@usasports) September 6, 2026

HIGHLIGHT: Watch Rogers goal in UK | Watch in Canada

Kickoff

11:30 a.m. — This London derby is under way! Can Xabi Alonso dethrone the Champions, at least for the day?

Pregame

11:15 a.m. — Xabi Alonso has spoken about the absences for Chelsea today, of which there were a few that surprised. Levi Colwill apparently dealt with a «little thing» during the week, so he was not risked at the back. On Moises Caicedo, Alonso said he was «close» but also claimed there was «no point in taking too many risks» this early in the season. He admitted they «maybe went too early» with Caicedo’s return against Brighton, so the club is being «cautious.»

Also, those covering the match have noticed that Chelsea’s warm-up drills have looked like they may play with four along the back, with Josh Acheampong at right-back. Could it be a tactical switch for Alonso to catch his friend Mikel Arteta off guard? We’ll find out soon!

11 a.m. — Arsenal and Chelsea are two of the remaining three teams with a perfect Premier League record so far. The other is Man City, who have three wins from three. Only one of these two teams can emerge from today’s match with that perfect record intact, who will it be?

10:30 a.m. — Today’s managers, Xabi Alonso and Mikel Arteta, are exceptionally good friends. The two Spaniards go way back, all the way to their childhoods when both lived minutes apart in San Sebastian. They both played beach football as kids and joined the same youth club, Antiguoko, alongside another Premier League manager Andoni Iraola.

They were both secretly mates when playing on opposite sides of the Merseyside derby as midfielders for Liverpool and Everton.

Now they meet as top Premier League managers after both enjoyed exceptional playing careers as well.

10:15 a.m. — Lineups are in! For Chelsea, Josh Acheampong comes into the back line for Levi Colwill. Moises Caicedo still isn’t fit enough for action and doesn’t make the squad at all, meaning Reece James is back in midfield next to Romeo Lavia. Marco Palestra is also out of the squad.

For Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, Ezri Konsa comes into the defensive unit for Cristhian Mosquera, which is the only change.

10 a.m. — Both Bukayo Saka and Cole Palmer have both started the new Premier League season strong, each scoring two goals. Who will have the best day today in their head-to-head matchup?

H2H: Bukayo Saka 🆚 Cole Palmer | League stats per 90 📊

Palmer 7⃣
Saka 2⃣#ARSCHE | #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/enZMhX6Yw6

— WhoScored (@WhoScored) September 6, 2026

9:45 a.m. — The recent history is on Arsenal’s side in this matchup. Chelsea have failed to win each of their last nine meetings with the Gunners, and have lost their last four visits to the Emirates by a combined 11-2 scoreline. The Blues have some work to do to turn that recent history around!

9:30 a.m. — Welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Arsenal vs. Chelsea! Both of these teams have enjoyed a winning start to the season so far through two matches, both of a different variety.

Whose style will win the day across these 90 minutes?

Where to watch Arsenal vs. Chelsea in the Premier League

Arsenal vs. Chelsea start time

• Date: Sunday, September 6, 2026
• Kickoff: 4:30 p.m. BST (11:30 a.m. ET / 8:30 a.m. PT)

What channel is Arsenal vs. Chelsea on today?

Here’s how to watch this Premier League match in the United States:

• TV channel: USA Network
• Live stream: DIRECTV

This game is available for live TV broadcast on USA Network. This channel can be found on DIRECTV.

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