Brighton 0 Arsenal 3
Brighton hosted Arsenal on the south coast, offering a tricky fixture for The Gunners with Roberto De Zerbi’s side unbeaten at the Amex Stadium since August. Mikel Arteta’s side knew that nothing but victory would keep pace with the sides in the title race.
The visitors created their first chance of the game with only a minute played. A teasing free kick was curled in by Odegaard which Gabriel met with a header but he put it the wrong side of the post. It was an early opportunity for The Gunners to take the lead.
White then put Saka through, who cut inside onto his left foot and looked to bend one in the far corner. The young winger had not put enough curl on his effort as it narrowly missed the far post. Brighton were struggling to deal with the intense pressure.
Saka got down the right once again and laid it into the path of Jesus on the edge of the box. His side-footed effort into the bottom corner was well saved by Verbruggen at full-stretch. It seemed a matter of time now before Arsenal broke the deadlock.
Credit: @Arsenal
Jesus always has an expression on his face like he has lost a winning lottery ticket. As a ball was clipped into the back post, he looked to head it across goal but got his angles all wrong. Another chance went begging for the visitors.
The Brazilian forward then received the ball in a wide position and took on Lamptey as he looked to get into the box. As he beat the defender, he had a wild swing at the ball that took Jesus out and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot.
Despite getting a slight touch on the ball, VAR saw no reason to overturn the decision. Saka stepped up after being presented the ball by Odegaard, to send the keeper the wrong way as he buried it into the bottom corner of the goal.
It is weird how Arsenal decide who is going to take a penalty for them. One player picks up the ball, thinks about it for a while and presents it to another player like a birthday cake. Either way, the visitors had a much-deserved lead in the game.
Enciso twisted and turned outside the box for The Seagulls and looked to bend the ball into the far corner. Raya managed to claw the ball out with an acrobatic save. It was the only real chance that the hosts had created in the first half.
Into the second-half, White and Estupinian had a coming together which left the Arsenal full back on the floor. The replay showed White pushed the Brighton man before he swung an arm at him with barely any contact. In a delayed reaction, The Gunners’ defender went to the floor.
Credit: @Arsenal
It seemed as though not only does Ben White look like a China doll, he may actually be one. Either way, the referee decided there was nothing to be done about the coming together. It was just another case of the acting portrayed by modern-day footballers.
Brighton gave the ball away and Odegaard played a sublime ball down the flank to Jorginho. He got to the byline before spotting the run of Havertz, who slotted home at the near post. The German is starting to score some important goals for The Gunners.
Trossard cut inside from the left wing and hit a shot from outside the box into the bottom corner of the goal. Verbruggen got down well once again to make the save and keep his side in the game. Arsenal were dominating and good value for their lead.
In the closing stages of the game, former Brighton player Trossard got away to run clean through on goal from the halfway line. As the keeper tried to make himself big, the Arsenal attacker lifted it over him into the back of the net to seal the win.
Three points meant Arsenal finishing the day at the top of the Premier League table. They knew that putting the pressure on Liverpool was integral with their rivals having a tricky trip to Old Trafford. That aside, this was an impressive win for The Gunners on the road.
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