Arsenal end bad run vs. Brighton to capitalise on Man City’s stumble

LONDON — Arsenal's Premier League hopes hinge on improvements from last season. Sunday's 2-0 victory against Brighton & Hove Albion is therefore an important step in this search for marginal gains.

Few teams have dominated the Gunners as much as Brighton have in the previous two editions of this match. In May, Roberto De Zerbi's side dealt a fatal blow to Arsenal's pursuit against Manchester City by recording a 3-0 victory with six shots on target and 59% possession. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's team was so poor that day that he apologized for the performance to his club's fans. The previous season they had been beaten in a different manner as Brighton under Graham Potter sat and waited for counter-attacking opportunities, eliminating Arsenal with pinpoint raids that fully deserved a 2-1 victory.

Meanwhile, De Zerbi masterminded a 3-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium in the Carabao Cup. So there was a feeling that Brighton had Arsenal's number ahead of Sunday's game, a weekend where Manchester City had dropped points in their own match which has proven difficult in recent seasons: Crystal Palace at home.

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But if there were any doubts, Arsenal eliminated them in a dominant performance in which the only regret will be not having translated their superiority into the scoreline even earlier. Their level of control for over an hour was total, but they had to wait until the 53rd minute to open the scoring, Jan Paul van Hecke inadvertently brushing Bukayo Saka's corner at the far post where Gabriel Jesus leaned in to return home without being marked closely. range. This corner came at a time when Brighton failed to play under pressure, goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen gifting possession to Declan Rice and sparking a move from which Arsenal almost scored.

There was a late burst from Brighton either side of Kai Havertz's strike in the 87th minute, but they had to wait until the 64th minute to have a shot of any sort and were still only in the game until the 64th minute. 'at this stage due to faulty finishing.

The imposing nature of this victory in terms of anything other than the final score is an important psychological boost for a team trying to prove it can be more robust in a title race than last season.

“We should have scored two or three goals [in May] and we didn't do it,” Arteta said after the match. “That was still my concern at half-time and [in May] the way we reacted after conceding that first goal and how we lost. Today we showed real determination from start to finish to beat them. We managed to do it.

“We had to be patient but at the same time we had to be really determined against this team. As soon as you have doubts against this team, they open you up, they start to frustrate you and dominate with the ball. We don't We didn't do that.” We didn't allow them to do that. We showed a lot of maturity and a lot of intelligence. “

Opening up a five-point gap on City at this stage will only boost that confidence – although those advantages can change quickly over the Christmas period, given the number of games taking place – and it is particularly relevant that Arsenal did it. a day after Pep Guardiola's side failed to beat Palace for the fourth time in six meetings at the Etihad Stadium. City rarely lose at home, but Palace left Manchester with wins in 2018 and 2021 and now draw in 2020 and 2023, following Saturday's 2-2 draw. The result means City have won just one of their last six league matches.

The title race is shaping up to be more than a two-horse race at this stage, but Arsenal will judge themselves against the league benchmark over the past five years, and there are encouraging signs in the context of what happened before. It was the first time in 32 league matches that Brighton had failed to score. Only Arsenal (55), Liverpool (36) and Manchester United (36) have enjoyed a longer career in Premier League history.

Arsenal were even more spendthrift than they would have liked. Jesus is an undeniably talented player and he produces moments of class from time to time – Lewis Dunk is probably still stunned after a sumptuous second-half turn from the Brazil international completely knocked him out of the game – but he is clinical enough to win over the Gunners, the league remains to be seen. Likewise, Eddie Nketiah is an unproven understudy late in the campaign and so there was at least some evidence here to suggest that the clamor for Arsenal to sign a striker in January will intensify in the weeks future.

Brentford's Ivan Toney is the club's top target but there remain significant obstacles to securing a deal mid-season, including the England international's price tag, which is expected to be around £80 million.

Asked if Arsenal should have been more clinical, Arteta replied: “Yes, but if we generate more the probability of scoring will be higher. That's the only thing we can focus on. We have great players who can define matches and finish actions.

“Today we needed too many – especially in the big spaces – too many situations to finish the match. It was the fear, especially after halftime, that it could be one of those days because the The moment you give something to this team they will take it.

“When there are teams that want to compete, there are huge spaces that open up on the pitch. If you do the right things, you can run and we are a very good team there too. I think that the team clicks because we live more and spend more time together.”