E258: “Full Throttle” - Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Ødegaard Masterclass, Havertz Impact & Konsa’s Big Home Debut (Match Review)

Arsenal made it three Premier League wins from three with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea at the Emirates, but this performance looked very different from the cautious display at Villa Park. After conceding inside 77 seconds, Arsenal responded by taking risks, playing at speed and producing some of their most aggressive attacking football of the season.

We break down Kai Havertz’s performance against his former club, Martin Ødegaard looking back to his best and Christos Tzolis continuing to make his case on the left. There is also plenty of praise for Ezri Konsa after an impressive first home start, before we debate Havertz vs Viktor Gyökeres at No. 9 and whether Martin Zubimendi is better suited to playing as Arsenal’s six.

Then it’s time for He Said What?, as we get into the post-match reaction following Arsenal’s first major test of the new Premier League season.

Continue the discussion with us.
Follow The NN Pod for more Arsenal and football content.
All our links: https://beacons.ai/thennpod

Chapters:

(00:00) - Arteta's Non-Negotiables & Intro
(01:13) - Therapy Session: Can We Enjoy Watching Arsenal Again?
(10:02) - Starting XI: Konsa Debut, Lewis-Skelly & Tzolis Start
(10:45) - 0-1 | Morgan Rogers Gives Chelsea the Early Lead
(11:48) - Morgan Rogers Wants All the Smoke
(14:54) - Riccardo Calafiori
(16:48) - Christos Tzolis
(22:03) - Kai Havertz
(23:51) - 1-1 | Havertz Lashes Arsenal Level
(27:23) - Havertz vs Gyökeres: Arsenal's No. 9 Hierarchy
(34:11) - Ezri Konsa's Home Debut
(40:05) - Half-Time: How Is This Only 1-1?
(43:27) - 2-1 | Ødegaard Finishes After Havertz's Dummy
(44:22) - Martin Ødegaard
(49:05) - Substitutions, Lewis-Skelly & the Zubimendi Question
(54:51) - Match Metrics: Was the Chaos All in Our Heads?
(58:37) - He Said What?: Arteta Post-Match Reaction
(01:01:31) - Xabi Alonso, Chelsea's System & Cole Palmer
(01:09:00) - Squad Fitness, Depth & Final Takeaways
(01:13:00) - Outro