Odegaard shines again as Arsenal beat Chelsea

This fixture had been anticipated by neutrals and pundits alike as a clash between the best attack and the best defence. It took Chelsea just two games and seven goals for people to decide their attack deserved its own catchy name: [J.P. Morgan].

So, our defence was going to be tested by this newly branded threat, while their attack was about to come up against one of the best defensive sides in the country.

As the game got underway, the commentators on my TV feed were making exactly that point, while also mentioning that Chelsea had scored within the first five minutes of each of their first two games.

Thirty seconds later, the ball was in the Arsenal net.

Not quite the start I had expected.

I think that as Rogers struck the ball, Raya had taken one step too many to his left. As a result, he couldn't get his left foot properly planted in time to push off and dive towards the bottom corner, ultimately arriving just too late to prevent the goal. In his defence, his vision may also have been obstructed by the other players.

We responded well, taking matters into our own hands and playing exactly as we would have if the score had still been 0-0. I can't say we had Chelsea under the cosh, but it was clear that we were slowly suffocating them. They remained dangerous on the counter, though, so we had to be careful not to commit too aggressively to the attack.

Just before our equaliser, Calafiori's goal was fairly ruled out, as Konsa had been offside moments before the ball fell into the Italian's path. It was a shame, though, that Gabriel couldn't put the ball away from close range moments earlier, forcing a decent save from Martínez. Then Havertz scored in a manner that came as something of a surprise, but no one could say the goal was completely against the run of play.

The German received the ball on the right and, as he moved towards the centre, smashed it into the near bottom corner. Again, without taking anything away from the shot, one might think Martínez could have done better there.

Glad he didn't.

Between that and half-time, we had another scare as one of their Pedros hit the post during one of those counter-attacks I mentioned earlier.

After the game resumed, it was our turn to score within the first five minutes, as Ødegaard finished off what was arguably the best team goal of the gameweek, also involving Tzolis and Havertz. The assist went to the Greek, but what a clever dummy from Kai!

I think I saw it somewhere...

After that, the game looked really open at times, but in reality, both teams created very few clear-cut chances. Arsenal remained dangerous from corners, while Chelsea's one real opportunity came when Estêvão forced a great save from Raya.

It's all about man-management now, as we have four away games in a row, starting with a tough trip to Naples, followed by a visit to the Stadium of Light, where we drew last season. Surely, at some point, we should see Bruno, Merino, Eze and Zubimendi involved much more.

After the game, Mikel was asked about Ødegaard's form. He mentioned that Martin is enjoying his football, that his personal life is settled, that he's training well, and that he's surrounded by intelligent players.

I think people more often than not underestimate the importance of balance in their personal lives. At times, it can be even more influential than a player's physical condition.

Perhaps last season, aside from the injuries, Martin had things going on in his personal life that we don't know about. Whatever the case, it's great that things seem to be in a good place now and that we can enjoy seeing him back to his best.