Martin Odegaard praises Arsenal mentality after Chelsea comeback win

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has praised his team’s mentality after the Gunners came from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 in an entertaining London derby at the Emirates Stadium.

The victory saw Arsenal maintain their perfect start to the new Premier League season, despite falling behind just 77 seconds into the game.

Chelsea took the lead through Morgan Rogers, but Arsenal quickly responded and showed the resilience that Odegaard believes could prove important throughout the campaign.

Arsenal fight back against Chelsea

The Gunners were stunned when Rogers, one of Chelsea’s major summer signings, opened the scoring inside the first two minutes.

However, Arsenal refused to panic.

Kai Havertz equalised before half-time against his former club, giving Mikel Arteta’s side a much-needed boost going into the break.

Odegaard then completed the comeback five minutes after half-time, scoring in the 50th minute to put Arsenal ahead.

Chelsea pushed for an equaliser, but Arsenal held on to claim all three points.

Odegaard praises Arsenal’s mentality

Speaking after the game, Odegaard highlighted Arsenal’s ability to respond when things do not go according to plan.

The Norwegian midfielder said the team’s mentality is to continue fighting regardless of the circumstances.

“Our mentality is to keep fighting. We have shown that many times.”

Odegaard admitted that conceding so early was not part of Arsenal’s plan, but praised the team’s response.

“We never want to concede early but the reaction is top. We got our reward in the end and the response was brilliant.”

The Arsenal captain also pointed to the team’s work both in possession and without the ball as key factors behind the victory.

“We showed our quality with and without the ball and the result reflects that.”

Havertz backs Odegaard to shine

Havertz was also quick to praise Odegaard following the captain’s match-winning performance.

The German forward believes the Arsenal captain will play a major role for the team this season.

“He’s an unbelievable player – we have seen that over the last years,” Havertz said.

“He’s going to help us a lot this season.”

Havertz also acknowledged the strength of Chelsea’s squad but insisted Arsenal have enough quality and depth of their own to compete at the highest level.

Chelsea’s early goal could have unsettled Arsenal, but Havertz said the players continued to believe they could turn the game around.

“They scored early, so it’s not easy for us, but we believed in ourselves and changed the game around.”

The comeback victory will give Arsenal further confidence as they look to maintain their strong start and challenge for major honours this season.