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Two matchweeks into the 2026/27 Premier League season, four clubs still hold a perfect record. Two of them meet in London on Sunday. Arsenal, the defending champions, host Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium with both sides on six points and both unbeaten. The difference is in how they got there. Arsenal have won 3-0 and 1-0 without conceding a single goal. Chelsea have won 3-2 and 4-3 while shipping five. One of those records breaks at 16:30 BST.
Arsenal vs Chelsea: Kick-Off Time, Venue and What’s at Stake
This is Matchweek 3, the last Premier League fixture before the September international break, and the first genuine test of both projects.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Competition | Premier League, Matchweek 3 |
| Date | Sunday 6 September 2026 |
| Kick-off | 16:30 BST (15:30 UTC / 11:30 ET) |
| Venue | Emirates Stadium, London |
| Referee | Chris Kavanagh |
Arsenal arrive as champions for the first time in 22 years and have carried that momentum into August. Chelsea arrive with a new manager, a rebuilt spine and a squad that, for once, has no European football to distract it. That last point matters more than it sounds.
How Arsenal Built a 6-Point Start Without Conceding
Mikel Arteta’s title defence opened under Friday-night lights on 21 August, and Coventry City never got near it. Kai Havertz finished off Riccardo Calafiori’s pass in the 15th minute, Bukayo Saka rolled in a second eight minutes later, and Martin Ødegaard killed the game four minutes after the restart. A 3-0 win, and a warning shot.
Matchweek 2 was uglier and, in its way, more convincing. Arsenal travelled to Villa Park on a Monday night, sat through a tight opening hour, and won it through Saka again in the 59th minute. One goal, three points, another clean sheet. That’s four scored and zero conceded across two league games, backed by David Raya behind a makeshift back line.
Add the Community Shield, where Arsenal dismantled Manchester City 3-0 in Cardiff through Calafiori, Havertz and Ødegaard, and the picture is of a side that has flicked the switch early. Their pre-season told a different story, with defeats to Real Betis and Borussia Dortmund, but competitive football has been a different experience entirely.
Arsenal’s last five, all competitions:
- Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
- Arsenal 3-0 Coventry City (Premier League)
- Arsenal 3-0 Manchester City (Community Shield)
- Arsenal 1-1 Como, won 4-3 on penalties (friendly)
- Arsenal 2-3 Borussia Dortmund (Emirates Cup final)
Ten scored, four conceded. Averages of 2.0 scored and 0.8 conceded per game.
Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea: Seven Goals, Five Conceded, Zero Dull Moments
Chelsea under Xabi Alonso are not subtle. The Spaniard took charge on 1 July on a four-year contract, and his side have played two Premier League games and produced twelve goals between them.
The opener was a 3-2 win at Fulham on the Monday night of Matchweek 1. The follow-up was chaos. Chelsea led Brighton 3-0 inside 32 minutes at Stamford Bridge through Roméo Lavia, Pedro Neto and João Pedro, then watched the Seagulls claw it back to 3-2 via Malick Yalcouyé and a João Pedro own goal. Cole Palmer settled it in the 74th minute with a driving run and a finish into the bottom corner. Pascal Groß headed a late third for Brighton, but the points stayed in west London.
That’s seven scored and five conceded in two league games. The attack is genuinely frightening. The defence is a question nobody at Chelsea has answered yet, and Arsenal are a poor opponent against whom to keep dodging it.
Chelsea’s last five, all competitions:
- Chelsea 4-3 Brighton (Premier League)
- Chelsea 2-0 Luton Town (Carabao Cup)
- Fulham 2-3 Chelsea (Premier League)
- Chelsea 3-1 Real Sociedad (friendly)
- Chelsea 3-3 Johor Darul Ta’zim (friendly)
Fifteen scored, nine conceded. Averages of 3.0 scored and 1.8 conceded per game.
Arsenal vs Chelsea Odds: BC.Game’s Main Markets
BC.Game make Arsenal firm favourites, which is no surprise given the venue, the clean sheets and the head-to-head record. The Chelsea price is the interesting one.
| Market | Selection | BC.Game Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Match Result | Arsenal | 1.69 |
| Match Result | Draw | 3.70 |
| Match Result | Chelsea | 5.00 |
| Double Chance | Arsenal or Draw | 1.14 |
| Double Chance | Arsenal or Chelsea | 1.24 |
| Double Chance | Draw or Chelsea | 2.06 |
| Draw No Bet | Arsenal | 1.26 |
| Draw No Bet | Chelsea | 3.60 |
An Arsenal price of 1.69 implies roughly a 59% win probability before margin. That’s a strong number for a side missing two first-choice defenders and possibly a third, but it reflects both the Emirates factor and a head-to-head run Chelsea would rather forget.
Goals and BTTS Odds: The Case for the Over
This is where the two profiles clash hardest. Arsenal haven’t conceded. Chelsea have conceded in every competitive fixture this season.
| Market | Selection | BC.Game Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Total Goals | Over 2.5 | 1.78 |
| Total Goals | Under 2.5 | 1.99 |
| Total Goals | Over 3.5 | 2.32 |
| Total Goals | Under 3.5 | 1.58 |
| Both Teams to Score | Yes | 1.72 |
| Both Teams to Score | No | 2.00 |
| Arsenal Team Total | Over 1.5 | 1.70 |
| Arsenal Team Total | Under 1.5 | 2.00 |
| Chelsea Team Total | Over 1.5 | 3.40 |
| Chelsea Team Total | Under 1.5 | 1.26 |
The Chelsea team total is the standout. BC.Game price them at 3.40 to score twice or more, despite a side averaging three goals a game across their last five. The counter-argument is the opposition: Arsenal have kept clean sheets in all three competitive fixtures this season, including against Manchester City. For a wider view of how these lines are moving across the weekend’s Premier League card, Tips.gg tracks the market shifts as they happen.
Handicap Odds: Is Arsenal -1 Worth It?
If you fancy Arsenal but not at 1.69, the handicap markets offer more room.
| Market | Selection | BC.Game Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Asian Handicap | Arsenal -0.25 | 1.46 |
| Asian Handicap | Chelsea +0.25 | 2.64 |
| Asian Handicap | Arsenal -0.75 | 1.86 |
| Asian Handicap | Chelsea +0.75 | 1.90 |
| Asian Handicap | Arsenal -1.25 | 2.52 |
| Asian Handicap | Chelsea +1.25 | 1.50 |
| European Handicap | Arsenal -1 | 2.18 |
| European Handicap | Chelsea +1 | 1.65 |
| European Handicap | Arsenal -1.5 | 2.86 |
Arsenal have won by two or more just once this season, and that was against a newly promoted Coventry side who managed no touches in the opposition box in the first half. Against a Chelsea attack scoring at three per game, -1.5 at 2.86 asks a lot.
First Half, Corners and Specials
Arsenal’s set-piece threat is a live angle here. Their most recent league meeting with Chelsea, in March, was decided by a Jurriën Timber header, and the corner count was a defining feature of that afternoon.
| Market | Selection | BC.Game Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Half Result | Arsenal | 2.22 |
| 1st Half Result | Draw | 2.26 |
| 1st Half Result | Chelsea | 4.90 |
| 1st Half Total Goals | Over 1.5 | 2.58 |
| 1st Half Total Goals | Under 1.5 | 1.44 |
| Total Corners | Over 9.5 | 1.68 |
| Total Corners | Under 9.5 | 1.99 |
| Corner Match Result | Arsenal | 1.36 |
| Penalty Awarded | Yes | 3.35 |
| Penalty Awarded | No | 1.27 |
| Result & BTTS | Arsenal & Yes | 3.50 |
| Result & BTTS | Arsenal & No | 2.95 |
Chelsea opened the scoring inside four minutes against Brighton and inside the opening exchanges at Fulham. Alonso’s side start fast. That makes the first-half draw at 2.26 less attractive than the raw numbers suggest.
Head-to-Head: Chelsea Haven’t Beaten Arsenal in Five
This is the statistic that shapes the market more than any other. Across the last five meetings between the clubs, Arsenal have won four and drawn one. Chelsea have not won a single one.
| Date | Competition | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Mar 2026 | Premier League | Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea |
| 3 Feb 2026 | Carabao Cup | Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea |
| 14 Jan 2026 | Carabao Cup | Chelsea 2-3 Arsenal |
| 30 Nov 2025 | Premier League | Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal |
| 16 Mar 2025 | Premier League | Arsenal 1-0 Chelsea |
Arsenal have scored eight across those fixtures to Chelsea’s four. Only two of the five went over 2.5 goals, and three saw both teams score. The most recent, a 2-1 Arsenal win at the Emirates in March, was settled by Timber after Pedro Neto was sent off.
The caveat is obvious: four of those five came under a different Chelsea manager and, in several cases, a substantially different Chelsea team.
Premier League Table: Four Clubs on Maximum Points
The early table is congested at the top, separated only by goal difference and goals scored.
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manchester City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 6 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 |
| 3 | Hull City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 6 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 |
| 5 | Brentford | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 4 |
| 6 | Newcastle United | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 |
Arsenal sit second only because Manchester City have scored two more goals. A win on Sunday, combined with any City slip, would put the champions top before the international break.
Arsenal vs Chelsea Prediction: Where the Value Sits
Arsenal’s clean-sheet record is real, but the schedule has been kind to it. Coventry are newly promoted. Aston Villa are yet to score a goal this season. Chelsea are a different proposition entirely, with pace in wide areas, a genuine match-winner in Palmer, and a manager who wants his team on the front foot from the first whistle.
The counterweight is Arsenal’s control through midfield. Declan Rice and Ødegaard dictate tempo better than almost any pairing in the league, and Chelsea had just a quarter of the possession against Brighton and still won. That approach works when you’re breaking on a stretched defence. It’s far riskier against a side that keeps the ball and defends its box as well as Arsenal do.
The 1.69 on an Arsenal win looks about right rather than generous. The more interesting angle is goals: Chelsea have conceded in every competitive match under Alonso, Arsenal have conceded in none, and both teams to score at 1.72 sits at the exact point where those two trends collide. For the full spread of markets and pre-match analysis, Tips.gg has the coverage.
Arsenal vs Chelsea FAQ
What time is Arsenal vs Chelsea?
Kick-off is 16:30 BST on Sunday 6 September 2026, which is 15:30 UTC and 11:30 ET.
Where is Arsenal vs Chelsea being played?
The Emirates Stadium in London, with Arsenal at home in Matchweek 3 of the Premier League.
What are the Arsenal vs Chelsea odds?
BC.Game price Arsenal at 1.69, the draw at 3.70 and Chelsea at 5.00 for the match result.
Is Moisés Caicedo playing against Arsenal?
He’s a major doubt. Caicedo limped off after 14 minutes as a substitute against Brighton and will be assessed during the week.
When did Chelsea last beat Arsenal?
Not in their last five meetings. Arsenal have won four and drawn one across that run, scoring eight goals to Chelsea’s four.
Are Arsenal missing key defenders?
Yes. William Saliba is out long term with a back injury, Jurriën Timber is still recovering from groin surgery, and Cristhian Mosquera is a doubt after coming off against Aston Villa.
The Bigger Picture
Whatever happens at 16:30 on Sunday, this is a marker rather than a verdict. Arsenal are defending a title with half a back four missing and have made it look easy so far. Chelsea are three games into a project that will be judged in May, not September, and Alonso has already shown he can make a squad that finished last season trophyless look genuinely dangerous. Both sides break for the internationals immediately afterwards, and both will return with reinforcements returning to fitness. If Chelsea can take something from the Emirates without their first-choice midfield, the title race gets a third contender before the leaves turn. If Arsenal keep another clean sheet, the rest of the league has a problem it hasn’t solved in eighteen months.