Arsenal star Kai Havertz may be the best false nine on the planet, says Joe Cole (Picture: Getty) Joe Cole has praised Kai Havertz’s ‘absolutely sensational’ performance against Chelsea and believes the German may be the best false nine in world football. Arsenal got off to a nightmare start in Sunday’s derby as Morgan Rogers fired a stunning volley beyond David Raya to open the scoring after only two minutes. But Havertz helped inspire a spirited comeback from the Premier League champions, equalising with a precise finish past Emiliano Martinez before playing a key role in Martin Odegaard’s winner shortly after half-time. While Christos Tzolis provided the assist for Odegaard’s decisive strike, it was Havertz’s exquisite dummy in the build-up that earned many of the plaudits as the Gunners held firm to maintain their 100 per cent record. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. The result moved Mikel Arteta’s side level on points at the top of the table with Manchester City, the only other side in the division with three wins from their first three contests. Havertz and Co will look to pick up where they left off when they return to top-flight action away to Sunderland – first, though, Arteta’s men do battle with Napoli in Champions League on Wednesday night. ‘It burns me every time I see him playing for Arsenal and performing the way he performed,’ Cole said of Havertz while reflecting on the derby on The Dressing Room Podcast. Havertz had a hand in both of Arsenal’s goals against Chelsea (Picture: Getty) Odegaard completed the Gunners’ fightback in a compelling derby (Picture: PA) ‘He was absolutely sensational in that position and we sleep on him constantly. ‘We did a highlights reel of him and it could have been 15 minutes with the touches, the way he was dropping in, the dummy for Odegaard’s goal. ‘As a centre-forward, that false nine, is there a better player at that role in world football?’ {"@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'); } }); According to Cole, Arsenal were able to claw themselves back into the game with their ‘dominance’ in the midfield. ‘Moises Caicedo being injured was a little dampener. Romeo Lavia is a good player but he just can’t seem to keep himself fit for a sustained period of time,’ he added. ‘Reece James, Malo Gusto, whoever plays in there with him, it’s not Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo. ‘I thought Arsenal just slightly dominated that midfield area and that allowed them to build into the game but there’s a lot to be proud of for Chelsea.’ {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Alonso: Che