Arsenal did not come to see the seaside. They were not here to make friends – which was just as well. It was purely about the points. Mission: Eyes On The Prize. They accomplished it and then some.
There were 78 minutes on the clock here when the travelling support got wind of Nottingham Forest’s equaliser at Manchester City. How they belted out their anthems at that point – about previous title-winning glories. The wait is close to an end. Arsenal’s advantage at the top of the table is now seven points, albeit they have played an extra game.
Bukayo Saka got the goal early on – it was a personal disaster for the Brighton goalkeeper, Bart Verbruggen – and, thereafter, Arsenal did what they needed to do. Whatever they needed to do. Nobody manages a game quite like them. Or so the Brighton manager, Fabian Hürzeler, had suggested beforehand. Arsenal merely doubled down on their approach. It was not pretty. But with their defence holding aggressively firm, it was nevertheless beautiful for them.
It had been impossible to ignore Hürzeler’s pre-match comments, which he surely intended to set a tone. “When Arsenal has a corner and they are leading, sometimes they spend over one minute just to take it,” the Brighton manager said.
Arsenal have taken pot shots from their opponents for weeks. It comes with their lofty perch and, really, how they have gone about getting there this season. It did not take long for the home crowd to begin to rage when Arsenal took their time over a throw or set piece, or when their players went to ground.
Hürzeler was animated in his technical area – a little too much so for Arteta, who pointed angrily at him at one point midway through the first half. The fourth official had his hands full in between them. Watching Hürzeler watching the game, living every moment, was exhausting.
Arteta has called for focus from his players. He did not tinker too much with his lineup; his regulars are his regulars. The strain on them is just a part of how it is; how it has to be, in his opinion. Declan Rice passed a fitness test so he started. William Saliba had a problem so he was out, Cristhian Mosquera coming in for him. Gabriel Martinelli for Leandro Trossard was the only unenforced change.
It was end to end at the outset and Arsenal went in front with a goal that the Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen will not enjoy watching back. There was a deflection on Saka’s shot off Carlos Baleba after the winger cut inside from the right and unloaded from the edge of the area; his trademark move. Verbruggen was thrown but it was a bad look when the ball went through his legs. Moments earlier Eberechi Eze released Saka only for his cross to flash across goal with nobody in red there.
Hürzeler had demanded fight from his players, that they are “maybe a little bit dirty in the duels”. They brought the intensity from the start and they were almost gifted a goal in the third minute when David Raya missed a pass to Rice and found only Baleba. One-on-one with Raya, Baleba went for the lobbed finish but he did not get enough on it, allowing Gabriel Magalhães to head clear.
Kaoru Mitoma was denied by a Gabriel block while Georginio Rutter shot at his own teammate, Ferdi Kadioglu, after a good combination between the pair. That was in the 19th minute and the remainder of the half was largely about Arsenal drawing the sting from the contest, Hürzeler hopping about as though he had been stung.
Arsenal were in no hurry to restart the second half, holding a team huddle on the pitch – which obviously delighted the Brighton support. Hürzeler introduced Yankuba Minteh for Mitoma and his team set about upping the tempo, regenerating some momentum. It is not easy against this Arsenal team.
Rutter was lively. He could not get enough purchase on a header when well-placed and there was the moment in the 58th minute when he extended Raya with a side-on blast. The goalkeeper stayed down for treatment. When he got up, he held his left shoulder. He had dived to his right.
Brighton played on the front foot. They pushed. Minteh almost got a low cross to work while Mats Wieffer misdirected a free header – a big chance wasted. Arsenal stuck to the game plan. They knew that a clean sheet equalled glory. If they could pinch something at the other end, even better. Kai Havertz, on as a substitute, almost did after Rice had robbed Baleba. The Brighton midfielder got back to thwart him. Another substitute, Leandro Trossard, got his finish all wrong shortly afterwards while Havertz worked Verbruggen towards the very end. Arsenal’s celebrations when it was over were suitably wild. The Brighton fans jeered some more.