(Havertz 25′, Odegaard 50′ | Rogers 2′)

EMIRATES — I don’t know if Arsenal and Chelsea are going to be the two best football teams in England this season, but on Sunday afternoon most in attendance would have delayed any evening plans to extend proceedings by an hour or two to find out. 

It is no exaggeration to say that Arsenal played with more verve than we are used to and that they were more prone to being exposed too. It was rollicking fun and offered meaningful hope that the top of the Premier League may be a great deal more fun than in 2025-26.

Xabi Alonso has already proved his worth to the “Super Sunday” neutral. Much of elite club management over the last decade has been protecting weaknesses and maximising your chances of winning through several key moments. Alonso has one of the most exciting front threes in world football, an understaffed central midfield and a defence still learning the requirements of a new shape.

So what does he do? Tells the front three to score so many goals that it overshadows most other sins. Sees Arsenal’s famed corner threat, chuckles to himself and leaves four attacking players up the pitch. Picks Pedro Neto as a wing-back and tells him to play as a winger.

We will discover at some point whether this is genius or madness. It is definitely piping hot entertainment. Chelsea play every minute like there are five to go and they need a goal. More of this please.

At the Emirates, it was Chelsea’s best shot and it still didn’t work.

The pre-match question was whether Arsenal would want to win at their game or Chelsea’s. The former made more sense but the latter would flex the muscles and make the statement. They controlled the madness and swallowed it whole. 

Kai Havertz was the difference-maker. Scoring the Champions League final winner for Chelsea may still rank as his career zenith, a feeling not shifted by spending only 581 minutes of a title season on the pitch. But if this is atonement season then Havertz has started it as a ready-made champion.

The defining moment was indicative of Havertz’s rediscovered belief. In the first half, he played a dummy to Martin Odegaard that didn’t come off and the Emirates basically groaned as one.

There probably isn’t ever going to be the instinct of an elite centre forward; he’s 27 now. But who cares? In games such as these, Havertz’s is a perplexing form of dominance but it still equates to dominance all the same.

He doesn’t dominate physically. He doesn’t really beat a man with the ball. He is slightly positionless, the natural replacement for Thomas Muller.

But wherever you need him to be, there he generally is. 

That I think explains both his complicated reputation: for better (usually) and worse (sometimes), Havertz is always there. He is a magnet for the ball in this Arsenal attack, the opposite force to Viktor Gyokeres and his runs down the channels and heavy touches.

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It is already clear which Arteta prefers. The Emirates, too: an all-sides standing ovation for Havertz and the sarcastic ditty about £60m down the drain. 

Arsenal have new-old faces, back from injuries and spells. Last season’s new cast are on the bench now.

If that suggests that they can find new ways to win too, Sunday proved as much in the first heavyweight contest of the season. Chelsea might have a complete front three, but Arsenal have the complete team. And the non-striker striker isn’t bad as a striker either.