Arsenal returned to the summit of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Brighton at the Emirates Stadium, though Mikel Arteta's side made hard work of what should have been a comfortable afternoon.
Martin Ødegaard opened the scoring with a well-taken finish after being teed up by Bukayo Saka, before Georginio Rutter inadvertently doubled the lead with an own goal from a corner. Brighton pulled one back through their first shot on target, leaving the Gunners clinging on in the closing stages.
Arteta frustrated despite three points
"Very happy with the performance, individually and collectively so dominant. We were a big threat," Arteta said after the match. "But the margins should have been much bigger. The amount of situations, chances, open chances that we generated through the game—it should never be 2-1."
The Spaniard highlighted his team's resilience amid an injury crisis that forced Declan Rice into an unfamiliar right-back role after Riccardo Calafiori went down during the warm-up.
"Yesterday we lost Jurrien, today we lost Calafiori in the warm-up. Declan has to play as a full-back and you see the performance he put in," Arteta explained. "That's the spirit and that's how much our players want it."
Brighton's December woes continue
For Brighton, the defeat extends a miserable December under Fabian Hürzeler. The young German manager remains winless in the final month of the year across ten Premier League attempts—an unwanted record for any manager in competition history.
Viktor Gyökeres, who cost Brighton a club-record fee in the summer, was largely anonymous throughout, unable to find the service or space that made him so devastating at previous clubs.
Title race heating up
The victory keeps Arsenal one point clear of Manchester City, who had earlier beaten Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the City Ground. With Aston Villa lurking just three points behind in third, the festive period is proving decisive in what promises to be a three-horse race for the title.
Arsenal face Aston Villa at the Emirates on Tuesday, with Arteta hoping to welcome back some of his injured stars for what could be a season-defining encounter.
