Kai Havertz was the ‘best player on the pitch’ against Chelsea, says Arsenal hero Freddie Ljungberg (Picture: Getty) Martin Odegaard was named man of the match after his superb performance in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Chelsea – but Freddie Ljungberg felt Kai Havertz was the ‘best player on the pitch’ at the Emirates. Arsenal got off to a nightmare start in Sunday’s heavyweight derby, with Morgan Rogers volleying Chelsea in front after only two minutes in north London. The champions dug deep and found an equaliser through Havertz midway through the first half as the former Chelsea forward squeezed the ball past Emiliano Martinez at his near post to draw level. And after wrestling back the momentum, the Gunners took the lead for the first time in the contest shortly after half-time as Odegaard capitalised on an exquisite dummy from Havertz to take the roof off the stadium. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. The result saw Mikel Arteta’s men move level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table after three games, while Chelsea sit fourth ahead of their next clash with Leeds. Odegaard, meanwhile, walked away with the man-of-the-match award after scoring his third goal in his last four matches in all competitions. But giving his thoughts on the encounter on Viaplay’s television coverage, ex-Arsenal winger Ljungberg picked out Havertz as the hosts’ standout performer on the day. Havertz struck in the 25th minute to equalise against his former club (Picture: Getty) The result moved the Gunners level with Manchester City at the top (Picture: PA) ‘This is why we watch football in my opinion. I’m willing to pay a lot of money to see this type of game,’ Ljungberg – a two-time Premier League winner with Arsenal – explained. ‘I think Chelsea are on their way, they are playing better, but I thought Arsenal were much stronger and more solid, you could see they’ve played together for much longer. ‘Havertz, in my opinion, was the best player on the pitch. ‘How he links up, how he jumps over the ball when he has to, unselfish… top, top performance.’ {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"'It was beautiful': Arteta hails Arsenal's attack-to-defence display in win against Chelsea","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/07\/2593273995855020828\/480x270_MP4_2593273995855020828.mp4","description":"Arsenal came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium after Morgan Rogers stunned home fans into silence with a volleyed goal 77 seconds into the game.","duration":"T5M27S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/07\/07\/111091359-0-image-a-53_1788761962819.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-07T07:17:08+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); Ljungberg believes Havertz is ‘different’ to most other strikers, who may have tried to be the ‘hero’ rather than selling the dummy for Odegaard’s 50th-minute winner. ‘He’s a different type of striker but he’s aware and he scans non-stop, he knows exactly what’s happening,’ the Swede added. ‘He’s not selfish. A lot of strikers would take a touch, even if they know someone is coming behind: “I’m scoring this, I’m being the hero!” ‘He’s not that player.’ {"@
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