Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes the "team is back to its best" after easing past rivals Chelsea on Tuesday night to return to the top of the Premier League.
Arsenal blew hapless Chelsea away inside the first 34 minutes at the Emirates Stadium, captain Martin Odegaard scoring twice before striker Gabriel Jesus made it 3-0. Noni Madueke pulled one back for the visitors in the second half but victory had long appeared assured for the Gunners.
The victory moves Arsenal back to the league summit by two points, although second-placed Manchester City have two games in hand and can reclaim top spot with a win at home against West Ham United on Thursday night.
In addition to three valuable points, the result saw Arsenal end a run of four games without a win as three successive draws and a heavy defeat last time out to City handed Pep Guardiola's side the advantage in the title race.
“We wanted to have a very different approach to the game, and we did it right from the beginning,” Arteta said. “The team is back to its best. There was a lot of energy, determination, quality, movement, and we were really going for it. We connected with our crowd straight away, we scored two magnificent goals, got control of the game and fully deserved to win.
“We wanted to prove we had that fire in the belly. I could see that in the last few days, and we prepared the game well. Mentally we arrived in the right mood and with the right level of energy. Everything went for us as well, which is important.
“We’ve had a couple of difficult weeks with very different games with a lot of emotions involved. Today we’re back to the top of the league – let’s see what happens.”
Arteta reserved special praise for Odegaard following his brace which took the Norwegian midfielder's Premier League tally to 14 goals for the season.
Arsenal v Chelsea player ratings
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ARSENAL PLAYER RATINGS: Aaron Ramsdale - 6. Called into action by Chilwell in the 24th minute and he was equal to his effort. Made a good save to deny Havertz at the death. Getty -
Ben White - 6. Had very little to do defensively in the first half, which enabled him to be a prominent presence in attack. Struggled against the pace and trickery of Mudryk late in the game. Reuters -
Jakub Kiwior - 7. Stopped a Mudryk run with an impressive interception in the 73rd minute. Enjoyed an impressive outing in his first Premier League start for the Gunners. Getty -
Gabriel Magalhaes - 7. Stepped out of the defence to make several interceptions high up the pitch in the first half. Denied a goal by a clearance from Silva after the break. EPA -
Oleksandr Zinchenko - 5. Tucked in well into midfield to help the Gunners win the midfield battle in the first half. Caught out far too easily by a pass from Kovacic in the build-up to Madueke’s goal. Reuters -
Jorginho - 7. Bossed the midfield against his former club in the first half as the Gunners ran riot. Continued in the same vein in the second half as the home side controlled proceedings. Reuters -
Granit Xhaka - 9. Showed excellent vision with a pass across the Chelsea penalty area to assist Odegaard’s opener. Repeated the trick for Arsenal’s second goal. Had a hand in the third as his blocked effort fell into the path of Gabriel Jesus to sweep home. Getty -
Martin Odegaard - 9. Put the Gunners ahead with an effort that went in off the crossbar in the 18th minute. Grabbed his second of the night from almost the same position with an effort into the bottom corner. Getty -
Bukayo Saka - 7. Put Kepa to work with a header off Trossard’s cross in the 15th minute. Did well to turn and run at the Chelsea defence in the 55th minute but hit his effort went wide. Getty -
Leandro Trossard - 6. Played a lovely disguised pass into the path of Jesus in the 29th minute. Dropped back to help link up play effectively. AP -
Gabriel Jesus - 8. Got on the scoresheet with a close-range effort in the 34th minute. Blazed another effort high when Silva’s defensive header found him at the back-post in the second half. Getty -
SUBS: Gabriel Martinelli (Trossard 59') - 5. Never stopped running but failed to provide his usual spark from the wing after coming on. AFP -
Kieran Tierney (Zinchenko 73') - N/A. Added solidity to the Gunners left side of defence. Put his body on the line to stop Havertz in the 93rd minute. Getty -
Reiss Nelson (Saka 73') - N/A. Saw his half-hearted shouts for a penalty waved away in the 81st minute. AP -
Rob Holding (Gabriel 85') - N/A. The defender made little impact, but the Gunners weren’t troubled when he came on. AP -
Thomas Partey (Jorginho 86') - N/A. Brought fresh legs to the Arsenal midfield for the final few minutes. Reuters -
CHELSEA PLAYER RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga - 6. Made a good early save to bail out Azpilicueta after his error. Put out a strong left hand to deny Odegaard a hat-trick in the 84th minute, but could little about either goal. AP -
Ben Chilwell - 5. Denied by a good save from Ramsdale in the 24th minute. His crosses into the penalty area weren't up to his usual standard. Getty -
Cesar Azpilicueta - 5. Almost cost his side an early goal after he failed to get enough contact on a header back to Kepa in the fourth minute. Began the sequence of schoolboy defending that led to the Gunners’ third goal by lazily sticking out his leg in an attempt to stop Gabriel. AFP -
Thiago Silva - 6. Got involved in Chelsea’s comical defending for the third by deflecting the ball into the path of Jesus to score the Gunners third. Made a goalline clearance to deny Gabriel in the 50th minute. Reuters -
Wesley Fofana - 6. Intercepted what would have been a dangerous cross into the penalty area by Xhaka in the 10th minute. Improved alongside Silva in the second half as the Blues stopped the Gunners from increasing the lead. Getty -
Enzo Fernandez - 5. Could have done better to block Xhaka’s line of passing for the Gunners’ second goal. Failed to provide any sort of impact in the second half. Reuters -
N’Golo Kante - 6. Did well to stop Xhaka from testing Kepa after he was played into space by Odegaard in the ninth minute. Failed to pick out a Blue shirt when Chelsea had a four-on-two advantage counterattack on the hour. Getty -
Mateo Kovacic - 6. Drawn into the penalty area which left Odegaard with time and space to pick out the top corner for the Gunners’ opener. Supplied the assist for Madueke’s goal with a beautifully lofted pass over the Gunners’ defence. EPA -
Noni Madueke - 7. The most lively of the Chelsea attackers in the first half but he got crowded out the few times he got past Zinchenko. Scored what turned out to be a consolation goal with a left-footed finish past Ramsdale in the 65th minute. AP -
Raheem Sterling - 4. Displayed good feet to turn Ben White but chose the wrong option of trying to pick out Aubameyang when he should have continued with his run in the first half. Caught ball-watching as Odegaard snuck from behind him to put the Gunners two goals up in the 31st minute. AFP -
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - 3. His failure to bring Madueke’s pass under control in the 43rd minute encapsulated a first-half performance during which he was mostly a spectator. Ended the half with nine touches and got subbed off at half-time. EPA -
SUBS: Kai Havertz (Aubameyang 46') - 5. Showed good strength to shrug off Kiwior and put Ramsdale to work in the 92nd minute. Forced Ramsdale into a more routine save a minute later with a header that lacked power. Reuters -
Conor Gallagher (Enzo 71') - N/A. Worked hard after coming on but just couldn’t provide that bit of quality to force a second goal for the Blues. AP -
Mykhailo Mudryk (Sterling 71') - N/A. Put in several dangerous crosses from set pieces after coming on. Displayed nice bit of skill to get past White and find Havertz with a dinked cross in the 93rd minute. Getty -
Hakim Ziyech (Madueke 79') - N/A. Had a couple of nice touches after coming on. Getty -
Trevoh Chalobah (Fofana 86') - N/A. Came on too late to make an impact. Reuters
Odegaard, 24, struggled under the weight of expectation following his highly-publicised move to Real Madrid as a 16-year-old but has been a revelation at Arsenal since an initial loan move for the second half of the 2020/21 season. His performances have hit an entirely new level this season, having been handed the captain's armband, and Arteta is convinced there is even more to come from the Norway international.
“We don’t know what the limits of the players are,” Arteta said. ”When you have a player of his quality and his eagerness to learn every single day, he accepts that there are areas he can still improve a lot.
“He is constantly working on them, and in the end you get rewarded. That’s credit to him.”
Granit Xhaka has starred alongside Odegaard in the Arsenal midfield this season and assisted his captain for the opening goal.
The Switzerland international has certainly repaired his fractured relationship with the club and its fans, which reached its nadir in November 2019 when he was stripped of the captaincy after making lewd gestures and comments at fans following a substitution.
Having previously appeared destined for the exit, Xhaka has established himself as a key player under Arteta, and the 30-year-old midfielder said he was pleased with Arsenal's reaction following the defeat to City.
“We wanted to show a big reaction today, I think we did for 60 minutes,” he said. “It was a very good game and in the end, we deserved to win.
“We wanted to start with a lot of energy, and I think the first 45 minutes were nearly perfect. In the second half, we wanted to come out with a fourth and fifth [goal] as well. We were a bit disappointed with that but in the end, the three points are the most important thing.
“As a team, we put in a good effort today after the four games we didn’t win, and I think we needed the three points. It was very important.
“We needed a reaction for the fans, for ourselves as well to come back with confidence and hopefully we can continue like this for the next four games.”
