Arsenal went back to the top of the Premier League with a commanding 3-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion. The Gunners were in for a tough test coming to a ground where Roberto De Zerbi’s side hadn’t lost since September in the Premier League.
Mikel Arteta’s side continued with their recent dominant streak, though, peppering the Brighton goal before Bukayo Saka eventually got the breakthrough from the spot after Gabriel Jesus had been felled.
The one-way traffic continued in the second half as goals from Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard secured three crucial points ahead of Liverpool’s trip to Manchester United on Sunday. Here, football.london takes a look back at some of the moments you may have missed from the game.
Odegaard frustration with Saka
If there was one complaint in the first half for Arsenal it’s that they weren’t slightly more decisive. The Gunners had plenty of chance to be more than 1-0 up by the break and got a lot of joy down the right flank.
It did take a little while to get going, though, with Bukayo Saka showing some moments of rust as he recovers from injury. One of those saw the England international caught on his heels as Martin Odegaard looked to play a one-two in the midfield.
The Norwegian was frustrated by this and held his hands out to question why Saka hadn’t made the desired movement. It was all smiles not long after though, as Odegaard played protector of the ball, pretending it would be him to take the penalty before giving to Saka to dispatch.
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Jorginho wants more from Havertz
It was yet another game in the centre forward position for Kai Havertz. The German has now started his last seven Arsenal games in the No.9 position as Arteta seeks to exploit his versatility.
This saw Havertz making plenty of runs in to the space in behind Brighton defence. One of those came to get on the end of a quick free kick from Martin Odegaard that set the German clean through into the box.
The option was there to hit it first time, but Havertz instead chose to take a touch before playing it out to Bukayo Saka, who, in turn, squared for Odegaard to fire off a shot that was deflected out for a corner. Many thought the 24-year-old should have taken the shot on straight away, including Jorginho, who signalled to Havertz during the corner that he should have done so.
White gets the plaudits
It was always going to be a big day for Ben White returning to the club where he got his start in the Premier League. And it was another superb game from the 26-year-old.
He dealt brilliantly with the threat of Julio Enciso down the Brighton left and continued to get forward well. What his teammates love about him most, though, is his complete dedication on the pitch.
This was on show as he chased full pelt to get on a lost cause of a long ball in behind from Jorginho. White was able to put in a cross and earn not just a corner, but the applause of his captain Odegaard.
