Arsenal's Perfect Start Continues as Chelsea Faces Defensive Woes

Arsenal’s perfect start rolls on. Chelsea’s alarm bells get louder.

At the Emirates, Mikel Arteta’s side dug out a 2-1 win that said as much about their steel as their style. Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard supplied the goals, but it was the work without the ball that caught the eye of one of their fiercest long‑time critics.

Jamie Carragher, speaking on Sky Sports, could hardly disguise his admiration for the way Arsenal suffocated Chelsea despite being without their defensive pillar, William Saliba.

“I think the worrying thing for everybody else already is that Saliba, – who is genuinely world-class arguably probably the best centre-back in world football – has not played a minute of football so far this season. And it doesn’t look like anyone can score against them,” Carragher said.

That’s the backdrop that should chill Arsenal’s title rivals: a perfect record, a watertight defence, and their best centre-back yet to kick a ball.

Chelsea’s backline under the microscope

For Chelsea, the story is very different. Seven goals conceded in three league games under Xabi Alonso tells its own tale, but the manner of this defeat bothered Gary Neville even more than the numbers.

On the Gary Neville Podcast, he dismantled Chelsea’s defensive structure, appalled by how disjointed the back three looked in north London.

“The back three, when I watch them, it's almost like their legs aren't connected to their hips and the hips aren't connected to their bodies. It's almost like they're a bit all over the place,” Neville said.

That image summed up Chelsea’s afternoon: stretched, uncoordinated, and repeatedly exposed. Alonso’s side never looked comfortable when Arsenal upped the tempo. Gaps appeared. Distances grew. The organisation that defines elite sides simply wasn’t there.

Neville didn’t spare the system, but he also hinted the personnel might not be enough, suggesting Alonso may have to dip back into the market to repair the damage.

Optimism amid chaos

And yet, amid the criticism, Neville’s overall verdict on Chelsea was strikingly upbeat. He sees a different trajectory under Alonso, one that could yet turn this shaky start into something far more substantial.

He picked out wing-backs Pedro Neto and Jorrel Hato for praise, highlighting their energy and threat, and pointed to the attacking options that give this Chelsea side a far higher ceiling than recent editions.

“I think they can finish second - third is the absolute lowest I can see Chelsea finishing,” Neville insisted. “I'm as positive as I have been for three four five years about Chelsea because I think they're going in the right direction.”

It was a bold prediction given the current defensive mess, but it underlined a belief that the structure can be fixed and that the raw materials in attack are finally there.

Alonso didn’t hide from the problems either. He admitted his team have to be tighter, but he clung to the positives: spirit, attitude, a refusal to fold in a hostile stadium despite their flaws.

Different paths, same pressure

The contrast between the two clubs feels stark. Arsenal look settled, ruthless, and mature. They can win pretty, and they can win scrappy. They can shut games down even without Saliba. That’s the profile of a side ready to go deep into a title race.

Now comes a different kind of test. Arsenal head to Italy to face Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday, a trip that will probe their depth and resilience in a European cauldron, before returning to domestic duty away at Sunderland on Saturday. Momentum is with them; the challenge is to keep it there through a congested, unforgiving week.

Chelsea, by contrast, are in problem‑solving mode. Alonso has close to a full week on the training ground before Hull City visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday. That time suddenly feels precious. The backline needs rewiring, the distances tightening, the chaos replaced by cohesion.

Neville might see a top‑two finish in this squad. The question now is whether Alonso can turn those shredded defensive clips from the Emirates into fuel for a rapid reset, or whether this early-season fragility becomes the story of Chelsea’s year.