Arsenal's Perfect Start Continues, Chelsea's Defensive Issues Exposed
At a crackling Emirates, Mikel Arteta’s side dug out a 2-1 win over Chelsea that said as much about their steel as their style. Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard provided the goals, but it was the work without the ball that really turned heads.
All of it, crucially, without William Saliba.
Arsenal shut the door – without their defensive leader
On Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher didn’t bother hiding his admiration. Arsenal have yet to concede more than once in a game this season and here they strangled Chelsea’s attacks for long spells, despite their best defender watching on.
Carragher called it what it is: ominous.
"I think the worrying thing for everybody else already is that Saliba, - who is genuinely world-class arguably probably the best centre-back in world football – has not played a minute of football so far this season. And it doesn’t look like anyone can score against them."
That’s the crux. Arsenal are unbeaten, perfect on points, and still waiting to reintroduce a defender Carragher ranks at the very top of the game. The structure is holding, the distances look right, and when Chelsea did threaten, Arsenal’s back line absorbed it with a calm that used to be alien in north London.
Arteta will know it wasn’t flawless. But title rivals will see something else: a side that can grind, protect a lead, and shut down space even when a world-class pillar is missing.
Next up, the stakes rise again. Arsenal head to Italy to face Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday, then back to domestic business at Sunderland on Saturday. Momentum is with them, and the numbers back that up. So do the voices in the studio.
Neville savages Chelsea’s shape – then backs Alonso to soar
On the other side of this London divide, the mood is far more complicated.
Seven goals conceded in three league games under Xabi Alonso tells its own story. The latest chapter, at the Emirates, left Gary Neville exasperated on the Gary Neville Podcast. Not just by the goals shipped, but by the sheer disarray of Chelsea’s back line.
"The back three, when I watch them, it's almost like their legs aren't connected to their hips and the hips aren't connected to their bodies. It's almost like they're a bit all over the place," Neville said.
It was a brutal image, but it matched what unfolded on the pitch: gaps between centre-backs, poor communication, a unit that never quite moved as one. For a club that once built its identity on defensive authority, it felt jarringly unfamiliar.
Neville didn’t stop at criticism of the system. He hinted that Alonso may simply not have the right tools yet, suggesting the Spaniard could need fresh faces to fix what he’s inherited.
And yet, just as the analysis seemed to bury Chelsea, Neville swerved. He sees a different story developing under Alonso.
Despite the chaos at the back, he remains bullish about the project, pointing to the energy and quality in wide areas and up front. Wing-backs Pedro Neto and Jorrel Hato drew praise, as did the overall attacking potential that occasionally flickered into life even in defeat.
"I think they can finish second - third is the absolute lowest I can see Chelsea finishing," Neville insisted. "I'm as positive as I have been for three four five years about Chelsea because I think they're going in the right direction."
That’s a bold line after three games and seven goals conceded. But it underlines the belief that once Alonso tightens the screws defensively, the rest of the structure is ready to climb.
The coach himself didn’t hide from the obvious. He admitted Chelsea must be tighter at the back, yet he clung to the attitude and spirit his players showed while chasing the game. For a new manager, that buy-in matters. Shape can be coached; commitment is harder to manufacture.
Now comes a crucial stretch on the training ground. Alonso has nearly a week to drill his back three, reset their positioning, and restore some confidence before Hull City arrive at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The margin for error is already narrowing.
Arsenal stride into Europe with a perfect record and their best defender still to come back. Chelsea head home searching for stability, being told in the same breath they look a mess and can finish as high as second.
One London giant is already playing like a contender. The other has six days to prove it isn’t just a prediction built on hope.
