With the many of Buyako Saka, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard, Arsenal beat Brighton 0-3 this Saturdayresponded to Manchester City’s victory and rose to the top of the Premier League English, waiting for Liverpool’s clash at Old Trafford against Manchester United this Sunday.
Arsenal beat Brighton. Getty Images
Good game from Mikel Arteta’s men, who held off City in a complicated venue like the Amex Stadium, where Brighton had not lost in the league since August and where he pressed his European options from the comfort of the center of the classification.
Arsenal, aware of City’s win against Crystal Palace (2-4) shortly before, could not fail. He did not want to fall out of the exciting three-way fight for the title that the Premier is currently experiencing. He wanted to survive in the middle of the peak moment of the season, with two games against Bayern Munich around the corner and with Aston Villa in between the Champions League matches.
And he complied. He was almost the complete dominator of the clash. He monopolized possession, barely left any room for uncertainty and, very well armed at the back and effective in the final part, amassed the victory little by little until he took the three points.
The Gunners started the duel by marking territory, with a header from Gabriel Magalhaes after a free kick that grazed the left post of the goal defended by Bart Verbruggen. Saka and Gabriel Jesús also tried immediately with two shots that almost missed the goal. And finally, a knockdown inside the area by Tariq Lamptey on Gabriel Jesús opened the way to victory for Arsenal.
Saka did not miss the shot from eleven meters and showed that he had put the mistake against Italy in the Euro Cup final behind him. His data this season are overwhelming: he has taken seven penalties and scored all of them. Not a single failure. Full effectiveness even in key duels like the one he played against Brighton.
With their success, Arsenal went ahead on the scoreboard into the locker room. A reaction from Brighton was expected in the second half, but Arteta’s team did not collapse and remained strong in all its facets. Once again they took full control of the match and it was Havertz who scored for the London team.
The German striker scored at will after an assist from Jorginho, who in turn broke the lines thanks to a great pass from Odegaard, who was very inspired throughout almost the entire match. Havertz did not fail with half an hour remaining and ended a duel. Trossard put the icing on the cake with an exquisite finish that gave the finishing touch to those who were once his former teammates.
Arsenal stormed the impregnable Amex Stadium and confirmed that they maintain their candidacy for the title with seven games remaining in a fight from which they do not want to fall at the last moment.