In the pouring rain at Stamford Bridge, both teams came out unscathed following early mishaps as Enzo Fernández fired off-target after Oleksandr Zinchenko had misplaced a pass, before Arsenal failed to capitalise on Levi Colwill’s miskick on the edge of his own box.
William Saliba wasn’t so fortunate when he handled Mykhailo Mudryk’s header, as Cole Palmer sent David Raya the wrong way on the quarter-hour mark to score penalties in back-to-back matches for the Blues.
Despite Mikel Arteta’s front three playing together for the first time this season, Palmer was proving to be the first half’s most threatening attacker against an unsettled Gunners backline.
He collected Conor Gallagher’s pass and let off a strike that whistled agonisingly wide of the post, then played an intelligent flick to start a move that saw Raheem Sterling race in behind and play in Malo Gusto, who struck his effort over the crossbar.
It took just three minutes of the second period for Mudryk - a man Arsenal had been so strongly linked with - to catch the Gunners out.
The winger’s cross-shot looped over a stranded Raya and nestled in the net for his third goal in four starts for club and country, with the 22-year-old having never scored for Chelsea or Ukraine before that point.
Raya then saw his pass cut out by Palmer but was able to recover by diving at his feet, and he did the same to halt Nicolas Jackson moments after the striker had come off the bench.
Robert Sánchez had endured uncomfortable moments during the game and was finally punished in the 77th minute when Declan Rice pounced on his poor pass with a first-time finish that went just inside the post to give the visitors hope.
Arsenal made the most of their unexpected opening, as Leandro Trossard converted from Bukayo Saka’s cross to maintain the Gunners’ unbeaten start to the PL season.
While Chelsea lose their three-game winning streak, things could have been even worse had Eddie Nketiah not fired marginally wide late on.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Cole Palmer (Chelsea)
