Arsenal take advantage of rivals’ off day with statement win at Brighton

Brighton 2 Arsenal 4   
Premier League   
Saturday 31st December 2022  5.30pm   

Well, well, well. So much for fears that the mid-season World Cup would derail Arsenal’s momentum. Two wins from the first two matches after the restart, and yesterday’s felt especially significant. Brighton away has become a more difficult fixture the longer the Seagulls have remained in the top flight, and on a chill windy New Year’s Eve, nobody was certain what to expect. Granted, the home side were weakened by the absence of the suspended Caicedo and the holidaying Mac Allister – but the thing with Brighton is that they don’t seem to be significantly weakened when squad players come in. Witness their League Cup win at the Emirates shortly before the Qatar interlude. 

With the points dropped surprisingly by Manchester City and Newcastle, there was a feeling of the gaping jaws of opportunity beckoning the Gunners – and for too long now, such moments have generally not been seized. Is this a different Arsenal? One that will respond more positively to pressure? They didn’t handle it all that well in the closing weeks of last season, but of course there have been changes since then, and Thomas Partey has remained fit. It’s strange to look at the table after the win at the Amex, with Arsenal having won 14, drawn one and lost one – an incredible 43 points out of 48, and still not consider them title favourites. Then again, they have to play both Newcastle and Manchester City twice. And by the end of February, when they have faced each of those sides once, we will have a far clearer idea about the credibility of a title challenge from Arteta’s squad.

And it feels like squad is the key word here. The fear is that injuries and suspensions could become the deciding factor. The first aim this season is, as last season, ensuring the club return to Champions League participation so that they can start re-establishing themselves on a solid financial footing after a number of seasons with heavy losses and frankly, a lot of money spunked up the wall on bad signings and high wages that did not give a worthwhile return. This was partly a hangover from the tail end of the Wenger era and partly just poor work from those that succeeded Le Prof in making decisions on who to buy, how much to pay for them and what their wages should be. 

After a long period in the wilderness away from Champions League activity, things do feel more streamlined – perhaps, where quality in depth is concerned, a little too much. But this is a rebuilding job, and reversing the decline of the latter Wenger years was always going to be like turning around a supertanker in the Suez Canal. Patience was required and mistakes delayed things. Now we have a young, hungry, spirited squad who may lack experience but are certainly not afraid to express themselves. There is the faintest echo of Ajax circa 1995 and 2019, both sides packed with young players that went on to become bigger names as they were cherry-picked by richer European clubs. 

And so it was that against Brighton, Arsenal’s four goals were shared between four of the younger players – Saka, Odegaard, Nketiah and Martinelli. There were doubts about Eddie coming in for Jesus but so far, he has stepped up to the plate. 

Arsenal made one change from the Boxing Day win with Zinchenko replacing Tierney, and just after a minute had been played, they were one up thanks to Saka controlling a deflected Martinelli shot and guiding it home with his second touch. This was very unlike the first half against West Ham when you felt as if they were trying to score the perfect goal by passing the ball into the net. This was far more like it. Admittedly Martinelli’s shot, after good work from Partey and Odegaard, was deflected – but it found its way to Saka. There is something to be said for just having a go and seeing what happens. The away side established dominance in the early period and deserved to double their lead through an unorthodox Odegaard effort, hitting the ball into the ground to make it rise over the defenders between him and the goal. And they could have scored a couple more quite easily.

Things were going very well, and although Brighton then took control of possession and territory, they didn’t seriously threaten. Ref Antony Taylor seemed fairly lenient with the physicality of the game, which made the booking for Gabriel – for timewasting – especially annoying. Why do you need to eat the clock in the first half? Fortunately, nobody was sent off for two yellows, as both Partey and Saka also ended up in the book. 

The second half couldn’t have started much better with a slightly fortuitous goal for Nketiah, benefitting from a fumble by the Brighton keeper, who failed to hang onto Martinelli’s shot. The game felt fairly safe at this point, but there were a few collywobbles as Brighton scored a goal either side of Arsenal’s fourth – Martinelli finally getting a shot past the keeper on the break after a fantastic ball from Odegaard – once more the team’s standout player. 

So 4-2. The first Brighton goal followed a cheap loss of possession near the halfway line, whilst Saliba made a complete hash of his challenge for the second one. A third Brighton goal as the clock neared 90 minutes was chalked off for a hairline offside courtesy of VAR, saving a stressful period of injury time. By this time, both full backs had been subbed for Tomiyasu and Tierney, and Rob Holding had come on to bolster the backline, with Odegaard sacrificed. Tomiyasu especially looked a little off the pace, and definitely needs game time. Fortunately the FA Cup is on the horizon to provide that. 

The final result meant Arsenal took full advantage of their chasers dropping points, but it must also breed even greater confidence to get a result in such a fixture. Last April, they lost at home to Brighton with the ultimate knock-on effect of missing out on fourth place. The other positive, if you can look at it that way, is that if you are going to make defensive mistakes, it is better to do it when you win the match. Both of the Seagulls’ goals felt like cheap ones to give away, down to individual errors. These need to be ironed out before they cost the team more heavily. Of course up front, there are few concerns, with seven goals in two games. 

After 16 matches out of 38, it is way too early to speak of Arsenal’s title prospects. So much can happen between now and May that it would be pointless to try and predict anything beyond the next couple of fixtures. What cannot be denied is that they have had a fantastic start and are playing some genuinely excellent football. The threat posed by Saka, Martinelli and Odegaard with their close control and quick passing is reaping dividends. Nketiah looks like he will continue getting chances, which hopefully he will convert. Thomas Partey is an excellent linkman between defence and attack, whilst Granit Xhaka is playing his best football in an Arsenal shirt, in a position that brings the best out of him. 

So happy days, and not much time to rest before another stiff test in the form of Newcastle. But Arsenal, especially at home, have every reason to feel confident on Tuesday evening. I anticipate less goals than yesterday, and a tight nervy game. And if the Gunners are going to remain in the title race, we’d better get used to those.

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