Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea: Gunners Make It Three Wins From Three

Arsenal preserved their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-1 victory over Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, winning by the odd goal in three to make it three wins from three and stay level with leaders Manchester City at the summit.

Goal-by-goal details from the fixture were unavailable in FanTribe's match data at the time of publication, but the result alone reshapes the early-season picture: Arsenal keep pace at the top, while Chelsea are beaten for the first time this term.

What the table says now

According to the Premier League table, Arsenal sit second with a maximum nine points from three matches, behind Manchester City on goals scored alone. Both clubs have won three from three and share a goal difference of plus five, but City's seven goals to Arsenal's six provide the narrowest of advantages.

Arsenal's defence has been the foundation of that start — one goal conceded in three fixtures, a figure bettered only by Hull City, who remain unbeaten in third and are yet to concede at all. Chelsea, on six points, sit fourth: three behind the leading pair and one adrift of Hull.

Key numbers, per the Premier League table

• Arsenal: P3 W3 D0 L0 — 9 points, 6 scored, 1 conceded, GD +5
• Chelsea: P3 W2 D0 L1 — 6 points, 8 scored, 7 conceded, GD +1
• Manchester City (1st): P3 W3 D0 L0 — 9 points, 7 scored, 2 conceded, GD +5

Chelsea's balancing act

For Chelsea, the defeat is their first of the campaign, and it came against one of the sides they will need to overhaul to stay in touch at the top. The story of their season so far is adventure at both ends: eight goals scored and seven conceded in three fixtures, per the Premier League table, with no side in the top half having shipped more.

That openness has brought goals in abundance, but a defence conceding more than two a game on average will be the concern for a team now playing catch-up in the top-four race.

The fans' call

FanTribe's prediction data makes for thin but intriguing reading: exactly one prediction was logged for this fixture, and it went for the draw. With a sample of one, that means 100 per cent of FanTribe predictors backed a stalemate — a call a one-goal Arsenal win ultimately overturned.

On so fine a margin, the lone entrant was hardly unreasonable, and a fuller spread of predictions across the coming matchdays should give a clearer sense of how supporters rate both of these sides.

Arsenal's start is as good as it gets: three wins, six goals, one conceded and a seat alongside Manchester City at the top. Chelsea, beaten for the first time, have ground to make up — and questions to answer at the back.