Arsenal · Community Shield · Midfielder · #8 · Norway · 27 yrs
Former Man Utd and England captain Wayne Rooney (Picture: BBC) Wayne Rooney believes Gabriel was ‘extremely lucky’ not to be sent off during Arsenal’s Premier League win over Chelsea. The reigning champions maintained their perfect start to the new season with a comeback victory over Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea on Sunday. Chelsea also came into the north London clash with a 100% record and made a superb start, taking the lead inside two minutes through ex-Arsenal target Morgan Rogers. But Kai Havertz equalised against his former club midway through the first half before Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard netted a second-half winner. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. Former Manchester United and England captain Rooney felt Arsenal should have been reduced to ten men just five minutes into the game after Gabriel kicked Chelsea goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the head. Several Chelsea players reacted angrily to the incident which left Martinez lying in pain and requiring medical attention. Chris Kavanagh’s view was obscured by a scramble in the penalty box but VAR did not suggest the referee consult the pitchside monitor for a second look. Gabriel celebrating Arsenal’s win over Chelsea (Picture: Getty) Analysing the incident on BBC’s Match of the Day, Rooney said: ‘You don’t really see it at first sight but then when you see a replay and they slow it down… ‘Martinez has got the ball in his hands and Gabriel boots him in the head, he swings a leg and goes way over the top. He’s extremely lucky to stay on the pitch.’ Former England defender Ashley Young added: ‘I agree. When the ball is on the floor and Martinez has it, Gabriel kicks so high. How this was not a foul? Gabriel kicking Martinez on head, should have been straight RED. #ARSCHE pic.twitter.com/5icTyXMmh9— The Final Whistle (@Rufus_45) September 6, 2026 ‘I’m not sure why it hasn’t gone to VAR of if they’ve properly studied it because he’s nowhere the ball. He’s got away with one there.’ Mikel Arteta was full of praise for his players after the London derby, describing Arsenal’s performance as ‘incredible’. ‘It wasn’t the right start but we certainly reacted in an amazing way,’ Arteta said. Arsenal beat Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium (Picture: Getty) ‘I enjoyed the way we competed; we took risks, it was a joy to watch and an incredible game. ‘They [Chelsea] have a great coach [Alonso] who can set them up in great condition. With the quality they have, you feel they can create something out of nothing at any moment. ‘We constrained them well. Overall, it was an incredible performance from our side.’ On Arsenal’s flawless start to the new season and their title defence, Arteta added: ‘We are very happy and we need to continue to raise the bar and look to improve every single time. ‘There are still a lot of margins to do that. But we need to enjoy the victory now because it was a big one today.’ Arsenal put their Premier League title defence on hold during the week as they begin their Champions League campaign against Serie A side Napoli. Chelsea, meanwhile, return to action on Wednesday night with a Carabao Cup clash against Leeds United. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
Ashley Young has hailed Martin Odegaard as a “joy to watch” after the Arsenal captain inspired Mikel Arteta’s side to a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Chelsea. Speaking on BBC Sport, the former Premier League defender praised Odegaard’s technical quality, creativity and understanding with Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz. “When you’ve got a player like Martin […] The post ‘Joy to watch’: BBC pundit Ashley Young singles out Arsenal star after Chelsea victory appeared first on CaughtOffside.
Chelsea hero Joe Cole (Picture: Getty) Joe Cole slammed Chelsea for selling ‘world-class’ Kai Havertz to Arsenal after Xabi Alonso’s side were beaten by the Premier League champions. Havertz helped Arsenal maintain their perfect start to the new season by scoring the equaliser in a 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium. Chelsea summer signing and ex-Arsenal transfer target Morgan Rogers gave the visitors the lead inside two minutes but Havertz equalised midway through the first half. In-form Martin Odegaard put Arsenal ahead just after half-time and the captain’s goal proved to be the winner as Chelsea failed to score an equaliser of their own. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. The result means only Arsenal and Manchester City have taken a maximum nine points from their first three games, while Chelsea stay fourth with six. Arsenal’s £65m move for Havertz in 2023 raised eyebrows given the German’s three mixed seasons at Stamford Bridge. But Havertz is now Arsenal’s first-choice striker – ahead of £64m signing Viktor Gyokeres – and produced another influential performance in Sunday’s win over Chelsea. Chelsea sold Kai Havertz to Arsenal in 2023 (Picture: Getty) ‘I think if you’ve got Kai Havertz at your club you’re watching him every day, week in, week out,’ Cole said on Premier League Productions. ‘Coaches and managers come and go, but the Directors of Football? Look at the amount of money on centre-forwards the club has spent since they him go out the door. ‘It’s just not good enough; I think it’s got to stop happening. It happened with Kevin De Bruyne [leaving]; it happened with Kai Havertz. Arsenal beat London rivals Chelsea (Picture: Getty) ‘Those kind of deals never happened at Manchester United with Sir Alex Ferguson, or with Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. ‘When did you hear of them letting go of a player who went on to become world class at one of your rivals?’ Odegaard heaped praise on Havertz, who also played a role in Arsenal’s winner, after the 2-1 win over Chelsea. https://www.instagram.com/p/Dc9L9tTDLrn/?img_index=1 ‘He’s a really smart player,’ the Arsenal skipper said. ‘He moves so well and takes a lot of attention from the defenders and it was a brilliant goal.’ Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, meanwhile, said of Havertz: ‘He looks happy. He looks settled, happy, and some great things have happened in his personal life as well. ‘He feels fit, he’s training every day and has this routine right now. He’s scoring goals, but not only that – he’s also doing amazing work for the team.’ Arsenal face Napoli on Wednesday night in their first Champions League game of the season while Chelsea take on Leeds United in midweek in the Carabao Cup. Speaking after Arsenal beat his former club Chelsea, Havertz said: ‘It’s always nice to win at home against a London rival. It was a tough game but over the 90 minutes, we deserved to win that game. ‘They have strong players. They have an amazing squad but so do we. We knew it was going to be tough and it’s going to be a tight game. ‘They scored early, so it’s not easy for us but we believed in ourselves and changed the game around.’ For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
Manager delighted by reaction to Chelsea’s openerAlonso says his side must be ‘tighter’ Mikel Arteta warned that Arsenal are capable of hitting even greater heights after the Premier League champions sent a statement to their title rivals by fighting back from a goal down to beat Chelsea on Sunday.Arteta’s side were under pressure after conceding for the first time this season when Morgan Rogers struck early at the Emirates Stadium, but the response to the setback was outstanding. Kai Havertz equalised before conjuring a brilliant dummy for a rejuvenated Martin Ødegaard to make it 2-1, ensuring that Arsenal moved level on points with Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. Continue reading...
Tap a headline to view metadata and excerpt fields in Sportra, then use the article website button to continue on the original publisher page.
