Brighton vs Arsenal: Arsenal ended the year 2022 on top of the Premier League table, with seven points above Manchester City, after a convincing win over Brighton.
After Manchester City played a 1-1 draw with Everton, Arsenal seized the opportunity against Brighton to extend the gap between them and Manchester City.
Arsenal scored an early two-minute goal via Bukayo Saka, who finished excellently. It was Saka’s fifth goal in six appearances for club and country.
Martinelli almost scored a second goal for Arsenal after Martin Odegaard’s pass in the 17th minute. After that Arsenal chance, Brentford improved more and were attacking aggressively.
Just before the end of the first half, Martin Odegaard, who has been dominating the midfield with all kinds of skills, scored the second goal of the match after Brighton failed to deal with Arsenal corner.
Eddie Nketiah, who has been performing well in the absence of Gabriel Jesus, made it two goals in two matches, two minutes into the second half.
When Martinelli’s strike was too hot to handle, Nketiah reacted quickly to poke the ball home in front of a jubilant away end. With Arsenal in control, the away end then began to pull out the ‘Ole’s.
Brighton Kaoru Mitoma reduced the deficit for Brighton when he found the bottom corner in the second half after Pascal Gross created a chance for the midfielder.
Odegaard’s outrageous long pass got to the path of the running Gabriel Martinelli, who made no mistake in putting the ball past Brighton goalkeeper David Sanchez in the 71st minute.
Ferguson had a standout performance for Brighton, netting his first Premier League goal after coming on as a substitute while holding off William Saliba and finishing forcefully.
He is the youngest player in the history of Brighton to score a Premier League goal.
Arsenal survived a late scare after Mitoma put a goal past Aaron Ramsdale. The goal was called off for offside after VAR intervention.
The fans were so happy about the outcome and are fully backing the manager to break records with the current Arsenal team.
Key Stats in Brighton vs Arsenal
Nketiah has scored in each of his previous three games for the Gunners, totaling 10 goals in his last 16 starts for Arsenal across all competitions (3 goals).
Saka scored Arsenal’s quickest away goal in the Premier League since May 2013, when Theo Walcott scored against QPR after only 20 seconds.
What next for Arsenal and Brighton
Arsenal will welcome 3rd-placed Newcastle on January 3, 2023, at Emirates Stadium. It is going to be difficult for Arsenal to win the match, though, due to the toughness of Newcastle’s defense.
Brighton, on the other hand, travels to face Everton on January 3, 2023. Brighton, who currently sit in 8th place on the Premier League table, will defeat the struggling Everton side.
