It was beautiful – Mikel Arteta hails Arsenal’s display in win against Chelsea

The Premier League champions required a response after conceding for the first time this season, Morgan Rogers stunning home fans into silence with a volleyed goal after 77 seconds before the hosts hit back against a Chelsea side still finding its feet under Xabi Alonso.

Kai Havertz netted for the third time against his old club to equalise midway through the first half – a near-post effort that perhaps ought to have been kept out by Emiliano Martinez – then produced a sumptuous dummy to clear Martin Odegaard’s path to goal, with the captain lashing home the winner in the 50th minute.

“I think it was an exceptional performance,” said Arteta. “I enjoyed every minute of it, from the beginning to the end. The beginning was tough but I enjoyed it because the team reacted in a spectacular way. The determination, the quality. It was beautiful. It was a fascinating game for the spectator.

“I think it’s an indication for us of how capable we are to perform at an even higher level than last season. We still have a lot to grow and a lot to offer.”

The game marked another promising step back towards his best for Odegaard. His goal to win the game was reminiscent of his clever finish in the Community Shield against Manchester City, this time combining brilliantly with Havertz whose cunning step-over caught Chelsea’s defence flatfooted.

Having missed 13 league matches last season, Arteta believes his skipper has come into the new campaign with unfinished business.

“He feels fit,” said Arteta. “Confidence-wise I think it’s the highest that I’ve seen him. And he has a point to prove after last season and missing so much football.

“He gets to this point because he’s enjoying his football. You have to enjoy what you do, you have to play with real intent. That’s what I loved seeing today. He was running forward, he took shots, he created so many situations for his team-mates.”

Chelsea boss Alonso tasted defeat for the first time since his appointment in the summer.

His team remain a riddle. The front three of Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and Rogers again showed their potential as assets in a possible title challenge, but Alonso appeared no closer to solving the enigma of a team irresistible in attack yet too easily pulled into all the wrong shapes defensively and in midfield.

“It was a very close game,” said Alonso. “Very intense. We had to have a really high level of concentration to be in the game, to be fighting.

“We’ve kept going. The team showed really good spirit, good desire to fight until the end. It’s a defeat. We are disappointed and it needs to hurt, but it needs to hurt in a positive way, because it’s game three.”

Chelsea had chances to add to Rogers’ goal, most notably when Pedro Neto stuck a post late in the first half then again when David Raya produced a superb 89th-minute save to deny Estevao.

“I want to compete in the best possible way,” said Alonso. “We didn’t want to sit deep and to wait and to make a long game. We wanted to be active, to be protagonists in the pressing.

“It’s game three of a new phase we are starting, but I’m happy with the spirit and the attitude from the players. They have given everything.”