Revealed: Why Riccardo Calafiori saw his crucial Arsenal equaliser chalked off by VAR against Chelsea

Arsenal recovered from a disastrous start to secure a thrilling 2-1 victory over Chelsea in a breathless Premier League London derby. The Gunners found themselves behind in under two minutes at the Emirates Stadium.

Chelsea's Rogers stunned the home crowd with a superb volley to open the scoring. The visitors capitalised after Arsenal failed to adequately clear a launched free-kick from Chelsea captain Reece James. The loose ball eventually fell perfectly to Rogers on the edge of the penalty area. Despite not making a perfectly clean connection, the £117m man watched his volley thud past David Raya into the bottom corner.

The Gunners immediately applied pressure and thought they had equalised just 12 minutes into the end-to-end contest. Calafiori bundled the ball into the net from close range to spark wild celebrations.

The chaos began when Joao Pedro failed to clear an initial free-kick from Declan Rice, leading to Arsenal bodies piling into the six-yard box. Ezri Konsa poked an effort against the post before Chelsea goalkeeper Emi Martinez rushed out to smother the rebound.

Calafiori eventually forced the ball across the line, but VAR quickly intervened. Officials determined that Konsa was offside when the Italian defender took his shot, leaving the stadium in temporary disbelief as replays confirmed the correct decision.

Despite the bitter VAR frustration, Arsenal supporters did not have to wait long for a legitimate reason to celebrate. Havertz stepped up to level proceedings in the 25th minute with a brilliant effort against his former club.

The German international striker timed his run perfectly, staying just onside as he collected the ball in the right channel. Havertz then weaved purposefully along the edge of the penalty box to create an opening.

He unleashed a powerful left-footed strike that blasted straight through the fingertips of Martinez, dragging Arsenal back into the match and restoring their momentum before the break.

Building on their hard-fought equaliser, Arsenal came out strongly in the second half to completely turn the derby on its head. Odegaard delivered the decisive blow in the 50th minute to complete the comeback. The influential playmaker found the back of the net to seal a massive 2-1 victory, ensuring the hosts took all three points from a chaotic and demanding encounter.