Report: Arsenal Players Believe They Can Defend Their Title; Team Strong Enough to Overcome All Premier League Rivals

On September 7 Beijing time, in the third round of the Premier League, Arsenal defeated Chelsea 2-1 at home to secure three consecutive league victories at the start of the season. After the match, Daily Mail Arsenal correspondent Isaan Khan published a column discussing his views on the game and the team's current situation.

Column article

If Chelsea ultimately become genuine title contenders, Arsenal have already proven with their performances that they are fully capable of leading the way — this is no exaggeration.

From another perspective, the Gunners could have made the scoreline even bigger.

Before the match, the contest was widely described as a clash between a strong defense and a sharp attack. Chelsea's “CPR” combination (Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro, and Morgan Rogers) had planned to put pressure on Arsenal's defense.

However, Arsenal delivered a dominant performance to dismantle Chelsea, demonstrating the team's sharp awareness: the other Premier League “Big 6” clubs are currently experiencing turbulence, and Arsenal must take advantage of this open opportunity to surge forward.

Failing to sign a big-name striker before the transfer window closed did not weaken Arteta's team. They committed fully in the attacking third and created a huge number of chances.

Although Arsenal won the league title last season, they had often been criticized for being too conservative in the past — after taking the lead, they were afraid of making mistakes and were unwilling to push on and prevent opponents from recovering.

But this match was completely different: Arsenal's defense left Chelsea some space for counterattacks, yet the home side showed no concern about it.

They believed goals would come sooner or later, so they continued pushing forward. In the end, Odegaard and Havertz each scored. If Arsenal continue playing this way, they will score more goals in the matches ahead.

Calafiori scored once, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Arsenal also wasted many opportunities, most of which fell to Havertz in the first half, but he adjusted quickly and delivered a strong overall performance.

This brings back memories of the 2022-23 season, when Arsenal were always able to seize opportunities and launch rapid attacks against opponents.

Compared with the style fans have become accustomed to in recent seasons, this approach is clearly more entertaining. Previously, Arteta's team had always followed a “safety first” strategy and eventually lifted the league trophy again after 22 years.

Arteta's post-match comments clearly showed that he wants to build further on last season's title success.

He said: “This game proved that we are fully capable of producing a higher level of performance than last season. It depends on whether we can maintain this hunger and humility, and work every day to make ourselves and the team better.”

“We still have a lot of room to improve and can contribute more — that is the ambition of the team.”

All signs suggest that Arsenal's style of play is changing. The psychological burden of repeatedly finishing as runners-up has disappeared, and Arsenal's players and staff firmly believe they have the ability to reach the top again.

We may see an Arsenal side that plays with greater fluidity and can deliver a decisive blow whenever it catches an opportunity. This is an exciting prospect for both Arsenal supporters and neutral fans.

If Arteta's team can maintain this form, there will be very few teams capable of stopping them.

Arsenal's rock-solid defense has long been well known, and the arrival of Ezri Konsa has further strengthened that area.

In the 56th minute, Konsa made a highly impactful tackle on Rogers, prompting the home fans to stand and applaud. Rogers was looking at the space ahead and preparing to advance, but Konsa's precise sliding challenge cleanly brought him down.

After the match, Arteta described the defensive action as a “very typical English tackle” that directly stopped Rogers' attacking momentum.

Returning to the attacking side, Arsenal's depth at left wing may not look ideal on paper, but when the team performs at this level, this weakness can easily be covered.

Another encouraging factor is Odegaard's continued form. His league goal tally this season has already doubled, and the stop-start periods caused by injuries in previous seasons appear to be behind him.

He seems to have a sense of urgency to make every second count, not only frequently providing clever passes to create chances for teammates but also making forward runs into the opposition penalty area. If Arsenal can keep him in this rhythm, it will be a major boost for the team.

Finally, there is Rogers. When he was substituted in the 87th minute, home fans shouted to him, “You should have joined a big club.”

He was highly dangerous in the match, repeatedly threatening Arsenal's defense through counterattacks. His shot after just two minutes of play also quickly showed why Arsenal had pursued him throughout the summer.

But as Arsenal demonstrated in this match, they may already possess enough attacking power to overcome the other teams in the league.