On Saturday afternoon (Eastern time), James Harden, fresh off signing a three-year, $97 million contract to stay with the Cleveland Cavaliers, was in attendance for reigning English Premier League champion Arsenal’s third league clash of the season, which came against London rival Chelsea in their stomping grounds at North London, Emirates Stadium.
While Chelsea did strike the first blow courtesy of an early strike from Morgan Rogers, Arsenal came up with two huge goals to earn their third victory of the new campaign to move to a tie for first place with Manchester City in the league table.
The Cavs star was an esteemed guest at the Emirates, as he watched the match from suites up above. He even linked up with right back Jurrien Timber, who wasn’t included on Arsenal’s match day squad as he continues to recover from an injury.
After the Gunners’ win against the Blues, Harden posted a two-word message on his official X account, echoing the sentiment of many fans regarding the hightly-anticipated match between the two London-based sides.
“Great game!” Harden wrote.
It was indeed a great game between Arsenal and Chelsea. The two sides were not afraid to go at it, and Chelsea, in particular, were not shy at all in attacking Arsenal’s vaunted defense. It was also quite the narrative that it was Rogers who scored the opening goal; Rogers was heavily courted by Arsenal during this past transfer window, only for Chelsea to swoop in with a transfer fee worth $157.3 to snag him from Aston Villa.
But the Gunners are the reigning Premier League champion for a reason. They remained composed, and by the 25th minute, former Chelsea man Kai Havertz equalized the contest with a great goal after cutting in from the right flank. Martin Odegaard then scored the winner in the 50th minute, with Havertz providing the game-changing dummy to open up the captain’s opportunity at his second goal of the season.
As for the Cavs star, he’ll be looking to draw inspiration from Arsenal — a side that finished second in the Premier League table for three consecutive seasons, but kept at it and are now on top of the English footballing world.