Few teams have played better than Arsenal like Brighton have in the last two meetings between the two sides. In May, Roberto De Zerbi's team took a fatal blow to Arsenal's title hopes with a 3-0 victory. In that match, Arsenal played so badly that Mikel Arteta had to apologize to the fans.
Last season, under the leadership of Graham Potter, Brighton also won against Arsenal but in a different scenario. They defeated the "Gunners" 2-1 with precise counter-attacks.
In between, there was also a victory in the Carabao Cup, when De Zerbi's army defeated Arsenal 3-1 right at the Emirates. Therefore, it feels like Brighton will at least get 1 point against Arsenal in the match of round 17 of the Premier League. Moreover, the day before, Man City also dropped points against a tough opponent Crystal Palace.
But if there was any doubt, Arsenal extinguished it with an outstanding performance. The most regrettable thing is that the "Gunners" could not concretize the advantage with earlier goals.
Despite dominating the first half, Arsenal had to wait until the 53rd minute to open the scoring. From a corner kick from Bukayo Saka's right wing, Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton headed the ball but it was not finished. The ball then found Gabriel Jesus' position in the far post and the Brazilian striker easily headed into the empty net.
Brighton have also shown signs of losing control under the pressure created by Arsenal. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen made a mistake and almost gave Declan Rice a chance to score.
In the 83rd minute, Kai Havertz sealed the victory for Arsenal after the striker's pass into the field to replace Eddie Nketiah. This was the German player's third goal in the last 5 matches in the Premier League.
"We should have scored two or three goals in May, but we didn't," Arteta said after the game. "Today we showed our true determination from start to finish to beat Brighton. We have done it."
"We have to be patient but also be really determined against Brighton. As soon as you are subjective, Bighton will take action and they start to dominate. We didn't let them do that. We have shown maturity and intelligence," the Spaniard added.
Creating a 5-point gap with Man City at this time is a mental boost for Arsenal. Of course, that advantage can quickly disappear during the Christmas period when matches take place in continuous density.
Arsenal's victory became even more meaningful when Man City could not defeat Crystal Palace at the Etihad. That result means the reigning champions have won just one of their last six Premier League games.
The Premier League title race is taking shape and Arsenal have every right to be confident about their chances. This is the first time in 32 Premier League games that Brighton have failed to score. Only Arsenal (55), Liverpool (36) and Man United (36) have had a longer scoring streak than the "Seagulls" in Premier League history.
Of course, the big problem in Arsenal's victory was the waste of opportunities. It is undeniable that Jesus is a talented player, but finishing is still a burning issue. Similarly, Eddie Nketiah is a young player who has yet to prove himself. Therefore, recruiting more strikers in January could be the task Arteta has to do.
Ivan Toney is Arsenal's favorite target, but there are still significant obstacles to reaching a mid-season deal. In particular, the price of the English striker is expected to fall around 80 million pounds.
When asked whether Arsenal should act more decisively, Arteta said: "Yes, but if we had created more goals, the possibility of scoring would have been higher. That is the only thing we can focus on. We have great players who can determine the game and complete the actions."
