Arsenal were once again wasteful with their scoring chances but managed to eek out a 2-1 victory over Brighton at Emirates Stadium on Saturday, to send themselves back to the top of the Premier League table.
WATCH — Arsenal v Brighton full match replay | Mikel Arteta reaction
Manchester City beat Nottingham Forest by the same score in the early game on Saturday and that send Pep Guardiola’s side one point above Mikel Arteta’s men for a couple of hours. Arsenal out-shout Brighton 24-8 (2.80-0.80 xG), but the final touch was too often missing from the likes of Bukayo Saka, Viktor Gyokeres, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli at very close range.
MORE — Getting lucky or winning ugly, can Arsenal win PL title this way?
In the end, it was an own goal — another recurring theme of late for Arsenal — that made the difference. Martin Odegaard opened the scoring from the edge of the box in the 14th minute and Georginio Rutter headed a corner kick into his own net in the 52nd, before Diego Gomez pulled a goal back and made things interesting late on.
Arsenal (42 points) are two points clear of Man City after 18 of 38 games played. Brighton (24 points) sit 11th after extending their winless skid to five games.
What’s next?
- West Ham vs Brighton — Tuesday, 2:30 pm ET
- Arsenal vs Aston Villa — Tuesday, 3:15 pm ET
Arsenal vs Brighton live updates - by Andy Edwards
Arsenal vs Brighton final score: 2-1
Goalscorers: Martin Odegaard (14'), Georginio Rutter (52' - OG), Diego Gomez (64')
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Brighton: Gomez’s shot takes a deflection and finds its way in (64')
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Brighton: Rutter get his header all wrong on a corner kick (52')
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Brighton: Odegaard sticks an arrow in the bottom corner (14')
Arsenal starting lineup
Raya - Rice, Saliba, Hincapie, Lewis-Skelly - Zubimendi, Merino, Odegaard - Saka, Trossard, Gyokeres
Brighton starting lineup
Verbruggen - Van Hecke, Dunk, Coppola - Kadioglu, Ayari, Hinshelwood, De Cuyper - Gruda, Gomez, Rutter
How to watch Arsenal vs Brighton live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 10am ET Saturday
Venue: The Emirates Stadium — North London
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
The Gunners could find themselves out of first place on the live table if Man City win early Saturday, but the table standing will mean very little if the Gunners don’t find ways to score from the run of play. Arsenal’s last three goals have come via a pair of Wolves own goals and a penalty vs Everton, as Mikel Arteta’s men had to fight to find slim wins.
Brighton present a different challenge altogether, as the Seagulls are a solid possession and attacking team whose defending is neither a strength nor a problem. Fabian Hurzeler’s visitors, however, are definitely in a rut. The Seagulls are winless in December with losses to Aston Villa and Liverpool — understandable — as well as home draws with West Ham and Sunderland — less so. They’ve slipped from fifth to ninth.
Arsenal team news, focus
QUESTIONABLE: Max Dowman (ankle), Ben White (hamstring) Cristhian Mosquera (ankle - MORE), Kai Havertz (knee - MORE) | QUESTIONABLE: Gabriel Magalhaes (thigh - MORE), Gabriel Martinelli (knock), Piero Hincapie (knock)
Brighton team news, focus
OUT: Carlos Baleba (international duty - AFCON), Adam Webster (knee), Solly March (knee), Stefanos Tzimas (unspecified) | QUESTIONABLE: Danny Welbeck (back), Jan Paul van Hecke (illness), Mats Wieffer (head)
Arsenal vs Brighton prediction
This game is why it’s dangerous to brand teams as “due” for anything. Brighton is expecting to snap out of its funk any day now while Arsenal have been fortunate to take six points from their last six available to them. And is there anything more due than Arsenal being more clinical in front of goal? We’ll use that as a tiebreaker. Arsenal 3-1 Brighton.
