An impressive Arsenal moved top of the Premier League thanks to second-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz as they became the first team since February to stop Brighton & Hove Albion scoring in a 2-0 victory.
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How the match unfolded
Arsenal, who were unchanged in the Premier League for the first time this season, started brightly, with Bukayo Saka taking every opportunity to run at the 37-year-old James Milner, who was facing the Gunners for the 40th time in his career.
It was Saka who had Arsenal’s first shot of the match, but his effort was saved by Bart Verbruggen, before Martin Odegaard’s left-footed strike curled the wrong side of a post.
Brighton were dealt a blow just before the half-hour, when defender Joel Veltman limped off with what appeared to be a knee injury.
Odegaard and Saka then combined brilliantly, but the latter’s cutback was fired over by Gabriel Martinelli.
Report: Arsenal 2-0 Brighton & Hove Albion
Martinelli then had a shot kept out by Verbruggen, before Jan Paul van Hecke blocked from Havertz as Brighton were able to somehow repel Arsenal’s continued pressure at half-time.
After the break, Brighton’s willingness to play out from defence would prove costly and ultimately resulted in a deserved lead for Arsenal on 53 minutes.
A poor pass from Verbruggen fell to Rice who passed to Saka, who then tried to find Odegaard but it was cleared for a corner by Van Hecke.
From that set-piece, Saka’s inswinging corner was inadvertently flicked on by Van Hecke for an unmarked Gabriel Jesus to head in his third league goal of the campaign at the far post.
It meant Brighton have now not kept a clean sheet in their last 21 Premier League matches.
Soon after Arsenal almost had a second, but Ben White’s header was cleared off the line by Lewis Dunk.
Odegaard forced another good stop from Verbruggen, while Havertz headed over as Arsenal pushed for a second.
However, Brighton came close to equalising against the run of play late on when a low cross from Kaoru Mitoma was met by the outstretched Pascal Gross, but the German could only hit the side-netting from close range.
With three minutes remaining, Arsenal finally added a second. Substitute Eddie Nketiah made a driving run and put in Havertz, who shot past Verbruggen.
It was a first home goal for the German and his fourth in seven matches in all competitions.
Verbruggen denied Emile Smith Rowe late on, but two goals were enough for Arsenal, who move on to 39 points.
The result brings Brighton’s 32-match scoring streak in the Premier League to an end, the first time they have failed to do so since February. They drop to ninth on 26 points.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +14 | 63 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +23 | 60 |
| 8 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
38 | -1 | 60 |
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
38 | -14 | 52 |
Next five Premier League fixtures
- Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 13 home matches across all competitions (W11 D2), their longest such run under Mikel Arteta, and longest overall since December 2018 (also 13 matches).
- Arsenal named an unchanged starting XI in the Premier League for the first time in 2023/24. At the same stage of last season, the Gunners had already named an unchanged XI on seven occasions.
- Brighton failed to score in the Premier League for the first time since 18 February, ending a run of 32 consecutive games in which they had found the net. Indeed, it was only the second time in Roberto De Zerbi’s 24 away games in the competition that he’s seen his side fail to score (also v Brentford in October 2022).
- For the first time in 49 Premier League games under De Zerbi, Brighton failed to attempt a single shot in the first half. Meanwhile, Arsenal had 15 shots at the break, only attempting more in a first half in the competition twice previously under Arteta.