Arsenal dig deep to beat Brighton and reclaim top spot

Arsenal returned to the summit of the Premier League table after holding out for a nervy 2-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Emirates Stadium.

Earlier on Saturday, Manchester City leapfrogged Mikel Arteta's men into top spot after their 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest, but Arsenal responded in kind with an important three points. 

The Gunners started on the front foot, taking a deserved early lead thanks to Martin Odegaard's calm finish. 

Watch Odegaard's reaction to his goal

Arsenal's advantage was then doubled shortly after half-time, when the unfortunate Georginio Rutter scored an own goal by flicking in Declan Rice’s wicked corner.

Watch Rutter's own goal

But out of nothing, the home side's lead was halved just after the hour mark, when Diego Gomez thundered in a shot for Brighton from the rebound after Yasin Ayari's low effort cannoned off a post. 

Despite Brighton’s late pressure, Arsenal hung on to restore their two-point lead over Man City, while Fabian Hurzeler’s side, who are now winless in five matches, dropped to 12th.

How the match unfolded

Arsenal were the vastly superior team in the opening stages, with Bukayo Saka causing problems before playing his part in the opener. He was gifted the ball in the 14th minute and fed Odegaard, who fizzed a powerful effort from long range into the bottom-right corner.

The hosts’ incessant pressure persisted, and after it pinballed through Brighton’s box, Bart Verbruggen made an exceptional save to keep out Martin Zubimendi's flick before Leandro Trossard blazed over before the break.

Arsenal's dominance carried on in the second half, and they doubled their lead in the 52nd minute when Georginio’s attempted clearance flew over Verbruggen into his own net, but it brought Brighton to life.

Completely against the run of play, Gomez was in the right place 12 minutes later to smash into an empty net after latching onto the rebound of Ayari's attempt.

Watch Gomez's strike

Brighton came agonisingly close to an equaliser, but David Raya made an exceptional stretching save to deny Yankuba Minteh. And Gabriel Martinelli also wasted a golden late opportunity to put the result beyond doubt for Arsenal when the Brazilian directed Saka’s cross over the bar.

Arsenal triumph despite defensive reshuffle

Heading into this clash, Arsenal were already missing an array of defensive options with Jurrien Timber, Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera absent through injury, while Riccardo Calafiori dropped out of the line-up in the warm-up.

Myles Lewis-Skelly was drafted in as the Italian’s late replacement on the left-hand side of defence, and midfielder Rice deputised as a makeshift right-back.

Nevertheless, Arsenal started the game ferociously, with Viktor Gyokeres and Saka testing Verbruggen, before Odegaard eventually opened the scoring.

Despite playing in defence, Rice’s quality still shone as his menacing corner prompted Georgino to direct the ball into his own net to compound Brighton’s misery.

Arsenal showed character to protect their advantage, and Arteta was also able to welcome back Gabriel Magalhaes in the second half for the first time since November, with the Brazilian helping to see out the win.

The Gunners arguably should have extended their lead late on, with Martinelli the biggest culprit for their misses, but they had Raya – making his 150th Premier League appearance – to thank, as his save to deny Minteh was the ultimate match-winning moment.

In their next outing, Arsenal will look to avenge their 2-1 defeat at Villa Park when they host Aston Villa at the Emirates on 30 December.

Brighton’s fightback comes too late

On the back of a disappointing run of form, Brighton’s hopes of turning things around looked tough against a team fighting at the top of the league.

Brighton desperately lacked any creativity or cutting edge, registering no shots of any note in the opening 45 minutes. Instead, all the action occurred at the other end of the pitch, with Verbruggen making some notable saves to keep the scoreline down.

Upon falling two goals behind after 52 minutes, Brighton’s hopes of leaving north London with anything looked impossible, but Gomez’s smashed effort pulled an unexpected goal back for the visitors.

That unsettled Arsenal’s rhythm and triggered a nervousness inside the Emirates, which was nearly capitalised on by half-time substitute Minteh, whose bending effort was incredibly kept out by Raya.

Nevertheless, it was too little, too late for Brighton, who could not find a leveller and are now winless in their last five Premier League games, alternating between losses and draws.

Tuesday's match against struggling West Ham United, who sit in the relegation zone and are winless in seven matches, should be a welcome opportunity for the Seagulls to reverse their faltering form.

Club reports

Arsenal report | Brighton report

What the managers said

Mikel Arteta: "Very happy with the performance, individually and collectively, so dominant. We were a big threat, so very pleased with all of that. But the margins should have been much bigger. I mean, with the amount of situations, chances, open chances that we generated through the game, it should never be 2-1.

"But that's the Premier League, that's the step that we have to make. I think the first shot that they had, they scored the goal and then David had to make another save to maintain the result. But what I like is that we're having a lot of issues, we're dealing with it in an incredible way.

"Yesterday we lost Jurrien, today we lost Calafiori in the warm-up, Declan has to play as a full-back and you see the performance that he put in. So, that's the spirit and that's how much our players want it. "

Fabian Hurzeler: "In the first half we were too passive, we weren’t brave enough and didn’t play with enough courage or personality,” said the head coach. “In the second half we did all that. It’s about personality and courage, we showed that, but we didn’t start well and weren’t able to push out. It was a mix of believing in our own quality and pressing – and that’s what we missed.

"The second is an unlucky goal, although I thought we defended Arsenal’s set pieces well. But we need to stick to the match plan for 90 minutes, not just 45. It’s the small margins that matter in the Premier League, and that’s what where we need to get better. It’s a disappointing result."

Next PL fixtures

Key facts

No team have benefitted from more own goals than Arsenal (three) in the Premier League this season, while only Wolves (four) have conceded more than Brighton (three).

Gomez is Brighton’s top scorer in all competitions this season (eight), with six of his eight goals coming away from home.

Saka had seven shots against Brighton, the most by an Arsenal player who failed to score in a Premier League game since Saka himself in September 2024 (seven v Leicester City).

Brighton remain winless in their last 11 Premier League games in December, drawing four and losing two in 2024/25 and drawing two and losing three so far this season.