Arsenal secured another huge victory in their pursuit of the Premier League title on Wednesday night, narrowly beating a spirited Brighton & Hove Albion side at the Amex.
Bukayo Saka’s sixth-minute strike was enough to see off the Seagulls, in a match in which the Gunners struggled to control and found it difficult to create chances. Had Manchester City not failed to beat Nottingham Forest at the Etihad, Mikel Arteta may have been left significantly more concerned about his team’s performance.
However, the Citizens did slip up, and Arsenal subsequently moved seven points clear at the summit of the English top flight. This could ultimately turn out to be a pivotal night in the title race, with the Gunners now firmly in the ascendancy with eight games left to play.
Brighton 0-1 Arsenal: Mikel Arteta needs to fix Arsenal’s control problem
Arsenal struggled to control the game at Wolves a few weeks ago, when they let a two-goal lead slip in dramatic circumstances. Against Chelsea, they allowed the Blues the ball and the territory late in the game, despite having a man extra.
This inability to control matches has become a recurring theme in recent months, and this should be hugely alarming to Arteta. The Gunners’ entire identity has been built around control, and now they’ve seemingly lost the ability to do so.
‘Death by 1,000 passes’ has always been a ploy that has been a part of Arsenal’s wheelhouse, yet at the Amex they struggled to string more than two or three passes together for much of the game. David Raya and the defenders in front of him were far too willing to go long, while none of the forward players were capable of holding onto possession for more than three seconds.
While their defence remaining resolute meant Brighton weren’t able to exploit this lack of control too often, not being able to sustain waves of possession isn’t good for Arteta and Arsenal supporters’ health. It needs to be fixed.
Diagnosing the issue is tricky. On the one hand, the Gunners were missing some key personnel who are pivotal to their ability to control possession – the likes of William Saliba, Martin Odegaard, and Kai Havertz (until the late stages) didn’t feature. After Havertz’s introduction, as well as Trossard’s, they looked much more capable of dominating the ball.
On the other hand, the extent to which the starting eleven were unable to hold possession was unprecedented. Brighton’s press made it difficult, but the likes of Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice simply weren’t at the races on the ball.
It’s possible that the nerves of the title race are getting to the Arsenal players and they’re subsequently throwing out all of their footballing principles. It’s also possible that Arteta is instructing his players to play in this manner, although this is less likely.
Whatever the issue, the Arsenal boss needs to find a solution imminently.
| Brighton | Stats | Arsenal |
| 60% | Possession | 40% |
| 11 | Shots | 7 |
| 3 | Shots on Target | 2 |
| 4 | Corners | 3 |
| 0.8 | Expected Goals | 0.43 |
Brighton 0-1 Arsenal: Title race dynamics change after huge win
While there are certainly aspects of Arsenal’s performance for Arteta to be concerned with, he’ll be over the moon with the result. At this stage of the season, with silverware on the line, the performances are very much secondary to the result. Getting all three points is all that matters, and Arsenal did that in this game.
City’s dropped points are massively significant for Arsenal as well. It gives the Gunners a cushion once again, and this might re-energise them after weeks of tension have clearly plagued their performances.
A weight may be somewhat lifted off their shoulders, as they no longer feel they need to be immaculate between now and the end of the season to lift the title.
City now face Newcastle away, Real Madrid home and away, and West Ham United away before the League Cup final. Conversely, Arsenal play Everton, Bayer Leverkusen twice and Mansfield in this period.
It’s looking positive once again for Arteta and his players.
