Goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz sent us back to the top of the Premier League table as we clinched a dominant win over Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Seagulls had proven to be tricky opponents on their visits to north London down the years, but this was a game that we dominated throughout and were eventually rewarded with a fair scoreline.
Jesus headed in on 53 minutes following a corner, while it would take until 87 minutes for us to make certain of the points when Havertz scampered clear and blasted into the net in front of the North Bank.
Frustrating first half
The opening half was one we bossed, restricting our opponents to no shots on goal throughout and just two touches in our box, but we couldn’t quite find a way to break the deadlock at the other end despite creating plenty of chances.
We controlled the early stages, with Bukayo Saka shooting straight at Bart Verbruggen before Martin Odegaard fizzed a trademark shot from the edge of the area just wide. Jesus then had a couple of attempts in quick succession, before his compatriot Gabriel was picked out at the back post by Gabriel Martinelli but his header was straight at Brighton’s keeper.
A golden chance then went begging just past the half-hour mark when a delightful pass by Odegaard allowed Saka to escape behind the Seagulls' backline, and drawing out Verbruggen he cut the ball back to Martinelli. The Brazilian looked set to give us the lead, but he fired his first-time effort over.
That was the best opportunity and piece of play in a scrappy half, but it still nearly had a happy conclusion for the Gunners when Odegaard once again picked a pass out to Saka with space to run into, and after he edged into the box he unleashed a fierce effort which flashed into the Clock End.
Jesus heads home
Mikel Arteta would have been wondering just how his players hadn’t brought the lead into the changing rooms at the break, but we eventually made our dominance count when we edged in front after 53 minutes.
Having continued to apply pressure on the visitors from the kick-off, we won a corner which Saka whipped into the box, and Jan Paul van Hecke flicked it past his own keeper towards the back post, where Jesus was lurking to nod it into the net and finally give the home crowd something to cheer.
It would take Brighton 61 minutes to register a shot, which came when Jack Hinshelwood headed straight at David Raya despite being well-placed to convert a Pascal Gross cross, but that would be the exception to the rule as we continued to carve out chances to double our lead.
Odegaard came close on 73 minutes when he tricked his way into the area and managed to create the yard of space he required to get a shot away but Verbruggen managed to claw it away from the top corner, and then moments later Martinelli put a teasing cross into the box that Havertz headed over from eight yards out.
Havertz on target
Despite our dominance, it was still a fragile advantage and that was evident with eight minutes left when on a rare foray forward, Kaoru Mitoma centred for Gross who stabbed an effort into the side-netting from a good position.
There was to be another goal in the game, and fortunately it came for us. Brighton had been given a warning moments before when Declan Rice raced 50 yards down the field after escaping the offside trap but Verbruggen saved with his legs, but on 87 minutes a nice through-ball by Eddie Nketiah sent Havertz in on goal, and he drilled the ball home to seal the points.
Emile Smith Rowe nearly put the icing on the cake when he connected with a Leandro Trossard pass. Verbruggen was once again equal to it but the victory saw us extend our unbeaten home run to 13 matches, and move us to the Premier League summit ahead of Liverpool’s game with Manchester United later in the afternoon.
Facts and stats
We are unbeaten in our last 13 home matches across all competitions (W11 D2), our longest such run under Mikel Arteta, and longest overall since December 2018 (also 13 games).
Brighton failed to score in the Premier League for the first time since February 18, ending a run of 32 consecutive games in which they had found the net. Indeed, it was only the second time in Roberto De Zerbi’s 24 away games in the competition that he’s seen his side fail to score (also v Brentford in October 2022).
For the first time in 49 Premier League games under Roberto De Zerbi, Brighton failed to attempt a single shot in the first half. Meanwhile, we had 15 shots at the break, only attempting more in a first half in the competition twice previously under Mikel Arteta.
Gabriel Jesus has been directly involved in 14 goals in 15 Premier League starts for us at the Emirates Stadium (nine goals, five assists).
Kai Havertz has scored four goals in his last seven appearances for us across all competitions, as many as he had in his previous 40 games at club level combined (4).
What's next
We head to Anfield to take on Liverpool next Saturday in our final fixture before Christmas, and then we host West Ham United at Emirates Stadium on Thursday, December 28 in what will be our last home match of 2023.
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