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They won’t see it as a reason for an extravagant celebration, but perhaps Arsenal are stepping out of the woods. It was vital that they back up Chelsea’s humiliation with a clean firing from Brighton if the suggestions of a rally carried a lot of weight and while this wasn’t an all-ages win, they did enough in an assertive second-half performance to be worth the points.
Alexandre Lacazette secured them in the 66th minute with a clinical shot just 21 seconds after replacing Gabriel Martinelli; It was the fastest Premier League goal by a substitute since August 2019 and was largely due to a magnificent run by Bukayo Saka, whose value to Mikel Arteta seems invaluable. A very changed, competent but timid Brighton, they are now winless in seven and have increasing relegation problems.
Arsenal had been exuberant on Boxing Day, but this time it had a noticeable difference in tone. Perhaps that was best summed up as the half hour approached, when Granit Xhaka calculated a free kick a couple of meters from the right corner of the penalty area. Against Chelsea he had approached a dead ball and waved the net; this time he finished at least half a meter from Robert Sánchez’s crossbar and Arsenal came no closer in the first half.
Most of the time they were denied space despite the efforts of Emile Smith Rowe, who kept his spot at No. 10, to work at angles to the Brighton three. Arteta had only made one change to their starting lineup, in the form of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replacing Lacazette, but his players struggled to pick up where they left off despite harassment from Martinelli and Saka’s usual alertness.
In the seventh minute Lewis Dunk vitally positioned himself to prevent Martinelli’s header from reaching an unmarked Aubameyang, while the enterprising outbursts to the line of Kieran Tierney and Héctor Bellerín resulted in corners that failed to beat the first man. Otherwise, there was little to worry Brighton, who had growing reason to feel that Graham Potter’s gamble might pay off.
Potter had made six changes, five of them apparently unapplied, from the team that had tied at West Ham. Brighton had a shorter recovery day, but it was still a surprise to see Bernardo, Davy Pröpper and Alexis Mac Allister giving their first league starts to the season and all of their renowned center forwards on the bench. All those interested had the credit that, at least during the middle of the game, no oxidation was particularly noticeable; Before halftime, Brighton popped the ball hard without looking too threatening, as he usually does, and had the best start ever.
His best chance came when Bernd Leno, back in the spot where his 2019-20 season came to a premature end, cleverly got off to save Alireza Jahanbakhsh after the forward had found space in the box. Jahanbakhsh had previously stabbed a Bernardo center and Mac Allister, a living presence alongside him in the attack, saw a shot from a distance deflect widely and another sail not far from the target.
However, the tempo on the ball had been lacking the entire time, and Arsenal looked to change that after the winger swap. In the fourth minute, Sánchez was forced to make a wonderful save, blocking at point-blank range with his right knee after Aubameyang connected with a low cross from Saka from the left. Smith Rowe was beginning to find nooks and, standing up to Joël Veltman’s challenge, he brilliantly found Martinelli; the Brazilian shone inches from the same spot as Jahanbakhsh’s previous opportunity.
Still, Arsenal arrived, Smith Rowe supplied Aubameyang only for the captain not to wrap his instep around the ball enough. Dunk stopped a run from Saka after a quick free kick and by the hour, the urgency on the pass and the visitors’ movement could hardly have differed more than it came before.
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Leno saved from Pröpper at his closest post, but Brighton’s hopes of using that raid as a platform were quickly dashed. It was no surprise that the winning goal was created by Saka, who had rotated 10 yards into her own half before passing Dan Burn on the right and keeping her head up to make sure good work counted. He framed perfectly for Lacazette, whose presence was apparently novel enough to render him undetectable to the Brighton defense, and the substitute took a bunt before launching a low shot past Sanchez.
A heavy blow to Saka, who was later substituted, was Arsenal’s only remaining concern. Brighton had undone them late when they met here in June, but this time it never seemed to repeat the trick.
