On Monday morning (AEDT), Arsenal and Chelsea played to a 1-1 draw, preventing Arsenal from suffering their third consecutive loss in all competitions.

Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta’s squad is now nine points behind Liverpool, who have won the first two Premier League matches of the season.

Now that they’ve come so close the last two years, the Gunners face an unprecedented challenge: they need to overcome a points deficit that no team in competition history has ever managed to overcome by this point in the season.

Arsenal will need to perform even better than last season to win the title, as Blackburn and Manchester United were able to come back from eight-point deficits after eleven matches.

Martin Odegaard, who returned from an injury and shined against the Blues, is on their side.

Former Premier League midfielder Don Hutchison highlighted the Norwegian’s return as a much-needed boost to their dwindling title aspirations during his appearance on The Weekend Wrap on Optus Sport.

The timing is wrong, and I believe Arsenal can put a run together, Hutchison added.

I was amazed by Martin Odegaard today. With 90 minutes played, he not only performed admirably, but he also appeared sharp in the game’s latter stages.

“The fact that Odegaard played that full 90 minutes—well, fit, available—is, in my opinion, Mikel Arteta’s biggest asset.

The work he has been putting in outside of training to attempt to get match fit is incredible.

“Nine points feels big at this stage of the season, but I wouldn’t rule them out just yet.”

Odegaard was instrumental in Arsenal’s victory over Chelsea by providing an assist that provided the Gunners a boost in attack.

Their most recent performance may help them turn a corner in the title fight, according to Premier League winner Michael Owen, who was unsurprised to see the impact Odegaard had for Arsenal.

Matchday Live on Optus Sport featured Owen stating, “As much as we think it’s a team game, and of course it is,” in reference to the importance of certain players to their respective teams.

When they leave the squad, it alters the course of events significantly. I mean, come on, every team has them.

Today was a huge improvement; they played well, and that should boost their confidence.

Today, it seemed as though they were back in the game. Once again, that was Arsenal, even though they haven’t looked like themselves in recent weeks.

“It’s nine points, sure, but it seems like the big players are making a comeback, their confidence is shining through, and I can almost feel them starting to score again.”

“He takes up so many good positions,” Frank Lampard, a former manager of Chelsea, said of Odegaard and Arsenal. You will witness a whole new Arsenal now that he is back.

They’ve had a rough go of it, but we shouldn’t lose sight of their legacy or the things they accomplished.

Liverpool has not experienced the setback that may befall them at some point, so they should not lose hope; they have nine points.

“The game is far from over, but Arsenal can take pride in their strong showing today.”