This fingernails of The Arsenal faithful were once again pretty much bitten to the bone as Arsenal managed to turn what seemed to be a routine home win into another nervy finale in which we were indebted to a quite ridiculous David Raya save to get us over the line. I put the word ‘difficult’ in the title in inverted commas as I think this could be one of those games where it probably doesn’t actually look that ‘difficult’ to the neutral fan, so there is some element of this latest run that is purely psychological for the fans. It certainly seemed difficult to me!!
The performance again wasn’t actually a bad performance, for the most part, but like other games, Arsenal were incredibly wasteful and maybe allowed the game to drift at times and nearly paid the price near the end of the match.
There was a late change to the starting lineup as Riccardo Calafiori pulled up in the warm-up leading to Myles Lewis-Skelly being drafted in at left back, which, when added to the emergency use of Declan Rice at right back in place of Jurrien Timber, made for another makeshift defence.
The first half was really good. Arsenal were dominant in pretty much every aspect of the game, Brighton didn’t have a single shot on goal, we had multiple shots, three of four really good openings and a lovely opening goal from Martin Odegaard, his first of the season. The one disappointing aspect of the first half, on which I think most Arsenal fans would agree on, that the score was only 1-0 at the break. For our all Arsenal’s good play, Brighton were really poor themselves in the first half and unlikely to be that poor after the break, so Arsenal should have pressed home their advantage further than they did.
As expecting, Brighton improved after the break, galvanized by the introduction of Yankua Minteh and Max Wieffer and the contest was much more even as a result. However, Arsenal doubled their advantage and added a second goal via a Georginio Rutter own goal from, right back for the day, Declan Rice’s in swinging corner. It was the least that Arsenal’s play until that point had deserved and at that point you would think that the game was done and dusted.
Brighton had other ideas. In hindsight, the goal that got Brighton scored to get them back into the game had more than an element of good fortune about it. Yasin Ayari did well to get a shot away through a crowd of Arsenal players and although it came back off the post, I think David Raya had it covered, as it wasn’t exactly a bullet from the Swedish midfielder. The rebound then fell very kindly for Brighton with the ball arriving perfectly at the feet of Diego Gomez to slam home into an empty net. Game on…from pretty much nowhere!
Nerves filled the North London air from this point onwards and you have to worry what that does to the players in turn, as the scars of late goals against Villa, Palace and Wolves were all clearly on the minds of all those in attendance, with the fear of another twist in the tale just around the corner.
Yankuba Minteh nearly provided such a twist as he made room for a shot on the edge of the box only to see his brilliant goal bound effort clawed out of the top corner by the imperious David Raya. It was a save worthy of winning any match. A true moment of class from a goalkeeper at the very top of his game.
Despite the nerves distorting all Arsenal fans perceptions to the contrary during the final stages of the match, Arsenal were never truly threatened after that point and only some more poor finishing from both substitute Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka preventing the Gunners from putting a seal on the result.
So that was that. Arsenal got over the line to get the three points and further good news followed in the form of a return to the side from Gabriel, who played the final 20 minutes of the match, to give Arsenal a much needed boost, after apparent injuries to both Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori.
They didn’t do it the easy way, but they returned to the summit of the best league in world football. Here’s how the players rated:
David Raya – 8
That save. Oh my word, that save. I’ve heard it said many times that a good goalkeeper wins you 10-15 points a season. I must admit I’ve not been counting to date and I’m too lazy to go back and check every match, but I think Raya is well past the 10 point mark already this year and this was another two that he earned for us. Truly magnificent and it gets him an extra point. Didn’t have much to do aside from that. Distribution was solid, but not spectacular.
Declan Rice – 8
Is there anything he can’t do?! Came in as emergency cover for both Timber and Ben White and looked all the world like one of the best full backs in the league (albeit based on one performance!). His energy up and down the wings, the quality of his passing, the timing of his runs and his unbelievable goal creating set pieces once again…what a player.
William Saliba – 7
Like everyone else, looked much more comfortable in the first half. Was relatively solid throughout and made a couple of top class tackles to prevent dangerous Brighton attacks. Didn’t impose himself on the game as much as he did against Crystal Palace in midweek from an attacking point of view which is a bit of a shame.
Piero Hincapie – 7
Another good showing from the Ecudorian. Can be over aggressive at times and given away needless fouls however, he pressed to really good affect to help win back possession in the build up to the opening goal, so I suppose you have to take the rough with the smooth! Moved to left back for the final 20 minutes and didn’t look entirely convincing, which is a worry.
Myles Lewis-Skelly – 6
Drafted in at the last minute and didn’t let anyone down. Hasn’t contributed as much to the attack so far this season as he did last and this was another game where that was the case. Seems to have lost that half a yard burst somehow that allowed him to evade challenges. Was tested much more defensively after the introduction of Minteh and it was no surprise to see him withdrawn around 70 minutes.
Martin Zubimendi – 7
Kept things ticking over in the engine room although there a few times during the second half where I was looking at him to slow down the Brighton attacks, and the tempo of the game as a whole, a bit more. Looks a much better player alongside Declan Rice and will be hoping his midfield partner returns next to him against Villa on Tuesday.
Mikel Merino – 7
Some nice touches in midfield to help keep momentum of attacks going and got through plenty of work, especially out of possession. Is it just me or has he lost a bit of his threat from open play? I know he was playing as a striker quite recently, but even in midfield I remember him being a real threat as a ‘box-crasher’ yet I’ve not seen that for a while and I think that’s his star quality so his performances will never rise above a 6/7 without this on show.
Martin Odegaard – 9 PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Back to his best?! Certainly seems like it. Was looking to get on the front foot and create from the first minute and should have left the pitch with two or three assists to add to his brilliant opener. His passing was crisp, link up play with Saka was back to its very best and his decision making was really on point, which is a big improvement from earlier in the season. If we get this version of Martin Odegaard three times a week, I think the rest of the league are in big trouble. More of the same please, Martin!
Bukayo Saka – 7
A tough one to rate for me. From a chance creation point of view, it’s an 8, if not a 9. Put a few ridiculous good balls zipping across the 6-yard box in the first half that should have been turned home by someone and laid on an absolute sitter for Gabriel Martinelli in the final 5 minutes of the game, that the Brazilian should have put away. I also liked how he drew in 2 or 3 players in the build up to the first goal which gave Odegaard that extra yard or two to work with before firing home, which tells you everything you need to know about the fear that Saka strikes into every defence. That said, he’s another who was wasteful in front of goal and he should have put away at least two chances and made the afternoon that much more enjoyable for all of us. As he’s our star boy, he’s held to a slightly higher standard than the rest so I don’t think I can go above a 7, given his lack of efficiency in front of goal.
Viktor Gyokeres – 6
I think this is probably a slightly kind rating as I don’t want to go in too hard on the Swede, as I think he’s had some tough breaks this season and been put under an enormous amount of pressure earlier in the season due to injuries. However, that early chance set the tone for his whole performance for me, lack of conviction. Has to score that. As our star striker, that has to be a goal and ended up resembling more of a pass back. Again a few crosses fired across the 6-yard box, where you would expect him to be lurking, yet his was MIA and the chance was gone. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gabriel Jesus start against Aston Villa on Tuesday night. I think it would be interesting to see Gyokeres’ impact from the bench for a change as well, so I’d be all for it.
Leandro Trossard – 6
This might just be my opinion, but I think he tries too hard to prove a point when we play against Brighton, which ultimately leads to a drop in his overall output, as his decision making goes right out of the window. Some lovely turns and skills to turn Brighton defenders inside out, but if there’s no end product, what’s the point? His early season form seems to be slipping slightly and with Martinelli, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze waiting in the wings, this is something he can ill afford if he wants to keep the left wing shirt.
Subs:
Gabriel – 7 – So good to see him back. His first touch was to put the ball out of play, but he soon got up to speed and he looked solid in the closing stages as he helped the Gunners see this one out. Gets an extra mark as I’m just so happy he’s back!!
Gabriel Jesus – 6 – Some nice touches and offered more than Gyokeres however, I think they will both struggle to start the big games once Kai Havertz returns to the fold.
Gabriel Martinelli – 6 – Another lively cameo in which his raw pace and renewed confidence were on show. Loses a mark for that unbelievable miss that would have made stoppage time a lot less painful.
Final note – thank goodness for the form of own goal. Without his consistent finishing, I really don’t dare think what sort of state our season would be in right now!!