On Saturday, Arsenal stunned everyone by coming back from a two-goal deficit to salvage a thrilling 2-2 draw away at Chelsea thanks to a late equaliser scored by Leandro Trossard.
After Cole Palmer scored a penalty in the first half and Mykhailo Mudryk scored in the second, Mikel Arteta’s club was 13 minutes away from suffering their first loss of the Premier League season.
Trossard equalised for Arsenal with six minutes left as he pounced on a pass that should have been cleared by Chelsea custodian Robert Sanchez.
Arsenal’s tenacity in coming back from a two-goal deficit moved them into second position in the league, behind Manchester City only on goal differential, after nine games.
This is only the latest example of Arsenal’s undeniable character and passion, which have been on full show over the past 18 months and form the basis of their quest to win the club’s first championship since 2004.
It was a crushing loss for Chelsea, who had been on the verge of gifting Mauricio Pochettino his first season-opening statement win.
The Blues haven’t been able to beat Arsenal at home since 2018, and they likely won’t get another shot at it.
A minute of silence was held earlier on Saturday to honour Bobby Charlton, a former Manchester United and England player, and Chelsea got off to a strong start despite the heavy rain.
In the 15th minute, the Blues took the lead when Mudryk’s header was stopped by an outstretched arm from William Saliba.
Referee Chris Kavanagh was about to rule against Chelsea on a penalty kick when he was alerted by VAR to check the pitchside monitor.
Palmer coolly buried the penalty, giving him his second goal since joining the team from Manchester City earlier this season.
Rice, a midfielder for Arsenal, spearheaded the team’s reaction by firing an acute-angle shot just wide of the far post.
Surge in the end
From the edge of the box, Palmer fired a low shot that narrowly missed the goal.
When they were teammates at PSG, Pochettino warned Arteta against becoming a coach; Arsenal’s manager is probably relieved Arteta disregarded that advice.
Before the game started, the two men who have described their friendship this week as “like brothers” embraced each other, but there was little love lost between their teams.
Three players were booked in a heated first half, with Marc Cucurella singling out Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka for some rough treatment.
In the 48th minute, Chelsea scored again when Raya, the Arsenal custodian, misjudged the flight of a cross from the left by Mudryk and let it to sail over his head and into the far corner.
The fortunate goal scored by Mudryk hurt Arsenal even more because Mudryk had rejected them in favour of Chelsea the previous year.
Raya has been starting for Arsenal over Aaron Ramsdale, who was formerly the team’s starter, but he hasn’t exactly looked comfortable in the net.
Raya’s confidence was rattled by his latest blunder, and the Blues nearly scored again after Palmer intercepted one of his passes but missed a 12-yard goal-scoring opportunity.
In the 77th minute, Sanchez repaid the kindness by sending a terrible pass that Rice pounced on to score an important goal from 25 yards out.
Arteta’s team capitalised on Chelsea’s sudden nervousness in the 84th minute.
Trossard beat Malo Gusto to a Saka cross to the far post and scored an easy goal.
Eddie Nketiah had a perfect opportunity to seal the deal for Arsenal with a late goal, but he missed the target.