Arsenal Analysed: Five reasons we beat Brighton

We returned to the top of the Premier League table after recording a convincing 2-0 win against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, with a display that impressed many watching on from afar.

One of those was Adrian Clarke, who has gone through the action again and delved into the stats to find five key reasons why we dominated our opponents.

Suffocating De Zerbi’s side

Our gameplan right from the first whistle was to press Brighton man-to-man, with great organisation and intensity. They are a side who like to control matches through quality possession, but we denied them that right by constantly unsettling them when playing out from the back. 

At the start of each half Mikel Arteta’s players set the tone. Inside 20 seconds [see below] we pinned the Seagulls into a corner before forcing a turnover that led to a shot on goal - and the same thing happened within 90 seconds of the restart. 

This sent out a clear message that Arsenal were not willing to give Roberto de Zerbi’s men an easy ride. 

Declan Rice was an imperious and incredibly dominant figure down the spine of the pitch throughout. Every time Brighton attempted a forward pass, our summer signing was onto it in a flash showing outstanding anticipation and strength to force turnovers from duels he created. 

Our brilliant number 41 produced four high regains from situations where our opponents wanted to pass through the lines - and as a team we consistently put the squeeze on De Zerbi’s men. Look below at how often we regained possession deep inside the Seagulls' half - we absolutely suffocated their style of play: 

Turnovers inside Brighton’s half

Jesus' perfect passing

Looking after the ball superbly throughout the afternoon, we showed wonderful press-resistance and composure under pressure. Six of our starting XI enjoyed a pass accuracy of above 90 per cent, but the standout performer in this department was Gabriel Jesus. 

Buzzing around the pitch to link play, laying a platform for onrushing midfielders to get forward, our Brazilian number 9 did not misplace a single pass. Completing 36 out of 36, his touch and decision-making were on point throughout. 

That quality allowed us to knit moves together and sustain pressure on Brighton’s goal for longer spells. 

It was not as if the Seagulls were not aggressive with us on the day. Bukayo Saka in particular was targeted for rough treatment, fouled four times inside the opening 42 minutes by three different opposition players. To string passes together in the way Arsenal did, was mightily impressive. 

More smart set-piece success

No Premier League side has scored more goals from corners this season (8) and the latest effort was an overload triumph which fooled our opponents. 

As you can see below, Brighton adopted a mainly zonal marking set up around the six-yard box. They had three man-markers, and as is our habit of late, our attackers took up positions behind the back post to make late runs across the face of goal.  

Jesus (circled) is an unnoticed spare man in a 4v3 we have purposely set up. When everyone dashes towards the ball Jesus stands still, finding himself all alone to head home after the ball flicked off a defender’s head. This was a simple, but very clever corner routine. 

Birthday boy stars

Everyone played well, but captain Martin Odegaard was one of our star performers on his 25th birthday. His leadership and off-the-ball running were exceptional, but in possession he tormented our opponents from start to finish with his quick feet and imaginative distribution. His stats were off the chart:

Running with the ball, almost scoring a couple of high-class goals, and laying on a glut of opportunities for others, Odegaard was in tremendous form. Floating around to create triangles or overloads, his tranquility stood out when he combined with teammates. 

Two of his highlights were a scoop pass to Saka inside the box, and a sublime outside of the foot through ball that released the same player into the danger zone. This was vintage Odegaard. 

Blindside runs

The skipper also conjured up a terrific piece of blindside movement to open the Seagulls up in the move that led to our crucial second goal. Darting behind two opponents to offer Leandro Trossard a reverse pass, he helped us slice through the lines: 

From there, Eddie Nketiah’s quick thinking saw him backpedal to sneak behind Jean-Paul van Hecke….

And in a 2v1, Kai Havertz also ensured he stayed out of Lewis Dunk’s eye line to run off his shoulder and score from the through ball. 

Our movements for this strike were enterprising, which was totally in keeping with the overall display. 

Seagulls stunned

This was arguably the most dominated Brighton have been since Roberto de Zerbi became their head coach early on last season. He described us as the side who have made his team ‘suffer most’, suggesting we are currently the best outfit in the top-flight. 

At half-time the Gunners led the shot count 15-0, enjoying 28 touches inside their box with just two Seagulls involvements in our own area. This pattern continued throughout the second period with the visitors offering little in attack, despite previously scoring in 22 or 23 away games under De Zerbi. 

This was the first time they failed to score all season. I felt this was a near-perfect Arsenal performance that saw us outclass Brighton on and off the ball, and it wouldn't have been surprising if the margin of victory had been far wider. 

Have a go at your own analysis by digging deeper into the numbers or building your own chalkboard with our revamped Stats Centre