Arsenal deliver excellent win at the Amex to keep title challenge alive and well

 

Brighton 0 Arsenal 3   
Premier League   
Saturday 6th April 2024  5.30pm    

A couple of earlier results in the day sent varied messages to those of a Gooner persuasion. Bayern were two goals up at half-time against lowly Heidenham, and yet construed to lose their Bundesliga game. They have injuries and do not appear to be anything like their imperious usual selves. There does seem to be a phenomenon of team competing for the title with Bayern self-destructing as the season closes, but it really feels like Leverkusen will break their run of 11 consecutive championship wins. And to think, we are bored with Manchester City winning the Premier League here. Anyway, after over 20 years of struggling against Bayern in the Champions League – always with Arsene Wenger in charge, finally, it feels like the Gunners have an excellent chance of overcoming them.

 

I mentioned Manchester City, and the other score that had implications for Arsenal’s match at Brighton was their earlier victory about an hour’s drive north at Crystal Palace. Some critics are stating last weekend’s draw at the Etihad was a missed opportunity, that the Gunners should have tried harder to beat their hosts. These people don’t know anything about football. A different approach would have almost certainly handed Pep Guardiola’s side three points. And playing the way they did, Arsenal did come close to winning the game by the end, they just blew their opportunities. 

 

What City’s win at Palace did mean was that there was no breathing space at The Amex, as it left Arsenal two points behind their them and Liverpool. As is stands, it has to be assumed that every match is a must-win game. Accordingly, Arteta rang the changes from the weakened side that beat Luton. Jorginho, Rice, Jesus and Saka replaced Partey, Smith Rowe, Trossard and Nelson. Signiicantly, Zinchenko kept his place in spite of concerns about his defending. I do fear that if this policy is maintained Arteta will regret it, but the tactic in this game seemed to be to funnel whoever was running at Zinchenko into Gabriel, and it worked. 

 

Arsenal enjoyed a good number of chances before the penalty awarded for a trip on Jesus saw them take the lead shortly after the half hour. Saka finished that with aplomb. Brighton were far from toothless for the first hour of this match and Raya produced a top drawer save shortly before the interval. The first 15 minutes of the second half was predictably a lot more competitive, but the visitors weathered it and added two more goals to secure the points. Jorginho was the surprise provider for a Havertz tap-in and Trossard broke away late in the game to convert a one-on-one opportunity against his old club. He dinked it over the Brighton keeper.

 

It was a wet early evening on the south coast, but the away fans were in good voice and high spirits. There was a comforting vista of a multitude of empty blue seats elsewhere in the ground during the 5 minutes of injury time. Falmer can be a bit of a pain to get away from.

 

Kai Havertz started the campaign playing centre-forward, but Arteta didn’t persist with him there. Now circumstances have made him explore that option again and the German seems to have found his groove. He was named man of the match yesterday, and the goals are starting to come. 

 

It was a terrific result given Brighton are generally a hard side to beat at home. Only West Ham have done it so far this season – and that was back in August. Liverpool drew 2-2 at the Amex, and Manchester City’s visit is yet to come. 

Arsenal returned to the top of the table and Gooners will not be hoping Liverpool do not win at Old Trafford this afternoon. That would leave Arsenal’s fate in their own hands. Yes, the run-in is not the easiest, and progress in Europe would provide an extra burden, however welcome. But momentum is everything. I do not feel that the draw at the Etihad was a loss of momentum in any way, given the context. It was a great result that left Arsenal a lot happier than their hosts. Now though, it’s all about winning. Title winners usually string together a series of wins as they close in on the crown. Arteta’s team need to do that now. It might not be enough, even so, but his players can only take care of what they control. Momentum takes care of fatigue, although injuries are a different matter. Let’s hope the season does not collapse as it has done in the last couple of springs. 

 

The signs are good. 31 points from 11 matches. Seven to go. There might be four Champions League fixtures before the Premier League is decided, but this is where the club want to be. Yesterday was a potential banana skin that was dealt with efficiently. Another clean sheet, and defence has not been a strong point at Arsenal for too long, one that could make all the difference. Next up, Bayern on Tuesday…

 

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