Morgan Rogers continued his good start in life in one Chelsea shirt volleying the Blues against the Premier League champions arsenal inside the first two minutes of a pulsating draw at the Emirates.
Rogers, who became the most expensive British player in history when he signed from Aston Villa for £177m, swept home after just 77 seconds to give Xabi Alonso’s side an early lead in the heavyweight derby.
In what was being billed as one, the big opening clashes of the top-flight season quickly lived up to the excitement in front of an electric crowd in north London.
The goal was the Gunners’ first in the league this season as Mikel Arteta’s side look to defend the club’s first top-flight title in 22 years.
Riccardo Calafiori thought he had equalized for the home side after a quarter of an hour, but the goal was ruled out after Ezri Konsa, making his first start for Arsenal, was ruled offside.
But just over 10 minutes later, the Gunners equalized when Kai Havertz headed past Emi Martinez, much to Arteta’s visible delight.
Chelsea had, until then, looked dangerous as they look to continue their strong start to the campaign, having won their first two league games.
alignments
Arsenal starting XI: Stripe; White, Consa, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; havertz
Arsenal substitutes: Arrizabalaga, Hincapie, Eze, Merino, Zubimendi, Guimaraes, Dowman, Gyokeres, Madueke
Chelsea starting XI: Martinez, Acheampong, Fofana, Lacroix, Neto, James, Lavia, Hato, Palmer, Rogers, Joao Pedro
Chelsea substitutes: Penders, Colwill, Gusto, Chavarria, Barco, Quenda, Gittens, Welbeck, Estevao
Arsenal-Chelsea stats, Premier League form
- Arsenal are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League games against Chelsea (W6 D3), their best such run since a run of 19 between 1995 and 2005.
- They have lost one of their last 29 Premier League London derbies (22 wins, 6 draws) and are unbeaten in the last 16 (12 wins, 4 draws).
- The Gunners were the last team to have such a longer unbeaten run, between August 2022 and November 2023 (17 games)
- Only once in the last 21 seasons have Arsenal started their campaign with three wins, in 2022/23.
- Bukayo Saka could score in more than two consecutive league games for the first time since January and February 2024 (5 in a row), with Alexandre Lacazette the last Arsenal player to score in his first three games of a season (2020/21).
- Chelsea have lost their last four Premier League away games against Arsenal by a combined total of 11-2, with the last win coming in a 2-0 victory in August 2021.
- They won their first four games of a season in all competitions in 2016/17 under Antonio Conte.
- The last Chelsea manager to win their opening three Premier League games was Maurizio Sarri in 2018/19.
- With 12 goals (F7 A5), Chelsea’s opening two games of a Premier League season have been the most by the same team, apart from Arsenal in 2004/05 (13) and Leeds United in 2020/21 (14).
- The last team to have their opening three games of a top-flight season with at least five goals was Arsenal in 1988/89.
Where to watch Arsenal-Chelsea: TV channel, live streaming online
Kick-off on Sunday is at 16:30 BST (11:30 ET / 08:30 PT), with live UK coverage on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra.
road Now the televisionSky Sports costs £14.99 for a daily subscription, £27.99 a month for a 12-month subscription or £34.99 a month without a contract.
Here is the full list of International broadcasters of the Premier League.
