Arsenal ground out a 1-0 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium, Bukayo Saka's deflected eighth-minute strike proving enough to decide a tense Premier League contest on the south coast. The winger's shot, which wrong-footed Bart Verbruggen after taking a touch off Carlos Baleba, allowed Mikel Arteta's side to capitalise on Manchester City's 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest and move seven points clear at the top of the table, albeit having played a game more.
It was harsh on Brighton, who dominated much of the game, enjoying around 60 per cent of the possession and pinning Arsenal back for long periods, but were repeatedly repelled by an away defence that refused to yield. Led by Gabriel Magalhães and Piero Hincapie, with David Raya secure behind them despite an early scare, Arsenal limited the hosts to only three efforts on target and leaned heavily on their game-management to escape with all three points amid a backdrop of simmering frustration from the home crowd.
Brighton seize initiative before Verbruggen's nightmare moment
Fabian Hürzeler had demanded that his Brighton players bring fight to the league leaders, even asking that they be 'maybe a little bit dirty in the duels', and his side responded with immediate intensity. Within the opening minutes Raya passed straight to Baleba, presenting the midfielder with a clear sight of goal, only for his attempted chip to lack conviction and give Gabriel time to race back and head clear from near the line.