Arsenal 2 Brighton 1: How good was Raya save? Is Odegaard back? What happened in warm-up?
We break down the talking points as Arsenal returned to the top of the table with victory over Brighton.
The Premier League is at the stage where title-chasing teams are trading wins, blow for blow, and Arsenal continued their battle by matching Manchester City’s three points earlier in the day — albeit with a nervy finish at the Emirates Stadium.
City had beaten Nottingham Forest in the lunchtime kick-off to go top, so Mikel Arteta’s side knew they had to keep the pressure on against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Captain Martin Odegaard put them ahead with his first goal of the season early on to become Arsenal’s 12th different scorer in the league, having been set up by Bukayo Saka.
With Jurrien Timber out, Declan Rice filled in at right-back and it was from his whipped-in corner that Georginio Rutter scored an own goal. Despite Arsenal’s dominance, they conceded late on when Diego Gomez was first to react to a rebound. They needed a world-class save from David Raya to secure victory.
The result puts Arsenal back top, two points clear of City after 18 games.
Nnamdi Onyeagwara breaks down the talking points from the Emirates.
Raya’s save and a nervy ending at the Emirates
Arsenal fans have become accustomed to seeing their games end in nervy finishes, including against Sunderland, Aston Villa, Everton, Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers. So Gomez’s 64th-minute goal was cause for concern from the Emirates home crowd.
Fans did not take well to seeing their side sit back, give up possession and invite pressure from Brighton as they moved for an equaliser. But they were off their feet reacting to a wonderful save from Raya in the 77th minute. The Spaniard managed to get fingertips to a curled effort from Yankuba Minteh and send it over for a corner. It was vital for Arsenal’s three points.
David Raya pulls off a spectacular save (Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
Is Odegaard getting back to his best?
Conversations around Odegaard’s role within this team have rumbled throughout his injury-hit campaign. Does the Arsenal captain take too many touches? Has he become too reluctant to shoot? Is Eberechi Eze, a more natural No 10, better suited to being the attacking tip of Arsenal’s three-man midfield?
However, the Norwegian, who turned 27 last week, showed signs of his best form on Saturday.
Martin Odegaard was back in form against Brighton (Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)
He was involved in the majority of Arsenal’s build-up play, throwing in moments of intricate skill that generated gasps and applause from the Emirates crowd. Off the ball, he led an effective press and there was also a goal from the fan-named ‘O-Zone’, the space on the edge of the area in which Odegaard routinely receives the ball from cutbacks.