Brighton 0-1 Arsenal

Alexandre Lacazette scored 21 seconds after coming off the bench to give Arsenal a close 1-0 victory over Brighton.

The forward picked up Bukayo Saka’s cutout with his first touch after substituting for Gabriel Martinelli in the 66th minute at Amex Stadium before composing himself and firing a clinical shot into the bottom corner.

The goal secured a second straight win for Arsenal following their 3-1 win over Chelsea on Boxing Day, giving them back-to-back Premier League victories for the first time since their first two games of the season.

But Brighton forced them to work for it, who would have gone into the halftime break ahead if not for the extravagance of Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Alexis Mac Allister.

However, Arsenal seemed transformed in the second half, closing in on scoring on numerous occasions before Lacazette broke the deadlock, his goal moving the Gunners from 15th to 13th in the Premier League table and bringing Brighton closer to the relegation zone.

How Arsenal got another win

Mikel Arteta was left with the young players who impressed against Chelsea, as Martinelli, Saka and Emile Smith Rowe kept their places at the side, the only change being that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replaces Lacazette after his return from injury at calf.

Arsenal started the game fairly confident, but despite their improvement against Chelsea, there was a familiar lack of offensive drive in the first half, with Aubameyang cutting off an isolated figure.

Brighton had one less day to recover for the game after their 2-2 draw with West Ham on Sunday, forcing Graham Potter to make six changes to his team, but they seemed the most dangerous side before the break despite their quick change.

Their best chances fell to Jahanbakhsh and Mac Allister, who fired when they should have hit their mark after Mohamed Elneny lost possession near his own box on two separate occasions.

Bernd Leno then denied Jahanbakhsh as he fired a low effort into goal from a diagonal angle, and the break came with Brighton having had eight shots off one from Arsenal, a Granit Xhaka free kick that sailed harmlessly.

The Gunners were lucky not to be punished for their poor performance in that half, but Arteta’s team talk had an immediate impact as they created a flurry of opportunities after the break.

In the first, Aubameyang found a cross from the outstanding Saka on a first-time effort from six yards that was cleverly blocked by Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

Martinelli was the next to come close, shooting over the bar after some excellent skill from Smith Rowe, and shortly after Aubameyang turned down another opportunity when he fired a deflected shot from another Smith Rowe pass.

Lacazette’s presentation was necessary for the breakthrough to come. Saka’s assist was excellent, the youngster quickly walking away from Dan Burn before picking his unmarked teammate, who had time and space to send in his shot when he found the net for the second game in a row.

Brighton tried to come back in the final stages, but never came close to testing Leno, with Joel Veltman shooting high and wide from his best start seven minutes from time.

For Arsenal, this was not a smooth win like Chelsea’s, but it was important nonetheless as they try to turn a corner after their dismal start to the season.

The only obstacle on his night was an apparent injury to Saka, who limped to be replaced by Dani Ceballos in the 81st minute.

Man of the match – Bukayo Saka

The sight of Bukayo Saka receiving treatment for an injury in the final stages of the game will have made the Arsenal fans squirm uncomfortably in their seats. The 19-year-old is fast becoming his most influential player.

He followed up his man-of-the-match performance against Chelsea with another quality performance at Amex Stadium.

The youngster’s attendance for the Lacazette winner was outstanding, but it was just one of many examples of him running fearlessly in Brighton’s defense. He created more opportunities than anyone on the field from Arsenal’s right flank, and Brighton often found fouls the only way to stop him.

Mikel Arteta will hope to avoid serious injury because no player has been more important in Arsenal’s mini-revival of late.

Opta stats: Brighton’s lousy year at home

• Brighton ends 2020 with just one Premier League home win (17 games), the lowest total of home wins in a calendar year in the competition’s history (excluding promoted / relegated teams).
• Brighton has won just one of its last 14 Premier League matches, drawing seven and losing six.
• Arsenal have won consecutive league games this season for the first time since their first two games in September.
• Arsenal kept their fourth clean sheet this season in the Premier League, a figure that only Aston Villa can improve on in 2020-21 (five).
• Alexandre Lacazette has scored in each of his last three games for Arsenal in all competitions, after scoring only once in his previous 12.
• Since the start of last season, Bukayo Saka has registered 15 assists in all competitions for Arsenal, more than any other player at the club.

Whats Next?

Arsenal continue their Premier League campaign in West Brom on Saturday, January 2, kicking off at 8pm. Brighton hosts the Wolves the same day, live Sky Sports Premier League HD from 5:00 p.m., starting at 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 2 5:00 pm

Start 5:30 pm