At home, Arsenal created an overwhelming position against a highly rated opponent. Coach Mikel Arteta’s team completely controlled the midfield area, forcing the opponent to retreat deep into the formation to defend. In front of Brighton’s dense defense, the young stars of the “Gunners” still found a way to approach Bart Verbruggen’s goal. Bukayo Saka took advantage of his speed to stir up the right corridor. However, he lacks precision in decisive decisions.
In addition, good opportunities also open up for Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli and midfielder Gabriel Magalhaes. The home fans were prepared to celebrate the goal, but then held their heads in disappointment when they saw the red and white strikers sending the ball over the bar or to the exact position chosen by the away team’s goalkeeper.
Arsenal pressed and deployed the ball impressively to end the first half with 15 shots, one of the most optimistic starts under coach Arteta but the effectiveness was still only zero. On the other hand, Brighton had the first time. The first team did not have any shots in the first half since coach Roberto De Zerbi took charge.
Facing a host with a very good high pressing ability, Brighton “committed suicide” by making short passes in the home third. In the 52nd minute, goalkeeper Verbruggen made an error, causing Brighton’s goal to wobble. On the next corner, Verbruggen once again made a mistake with an incorrect judgment of the drop point, creating an opportunity for Gabriel Jesus to head in from close range, opening the score for Arsenal.
After scoring the goal, Arsenal did not slow down but continued to press the opponent to the point of suffocation. Minutes 74 and 76, good opportunities opened up before Martinelli and Odegaard. However, this duo still could not take advantage to double the gap.
About the last 10 minutes, the match speed was pushed up. In the 83rd minute, Brighton made fans at the Emirates heart-stopping. Kaoru Mitoma boldly broke through and then crossed for Pasal Gross to finish from close range. David Raya was helpless, but the ball narrowly missed the goal. Just 2 minutes later, Declan Rice made a bold breakthrough from the middle of the field, before firing a powerful shot, forcing goalkeeper Verbruggen to show off all his talent to save the “Seagulls”.
Brighton continuously pushed the team up, only to be finished off by the home team after a smooth deployment of the ball from home. After Eddie Nketiah’s through ball, Kai Havertz escaped and finished coolly, sealing a 2-0 victory for the hosts. With this result, Arsenal temporarily rose to the top of the rankings with 39 points, thereby leisurely waiting for the results of the match between Liverpool and Man United.