LONDON — An own goal, two injuries but three points. armory returned to top of Premier League with 2-1 win over brightonWhich once again highlights the healthy margins the Gunners are currently operating on.
Mikel Arteta’s team deserved this win and now they are two points behind Manchester City,
This is despite Arsenal struggling with a diverse list of fitness problems, the latest of which is jurian timberEnforced absences and last minute defeats before kick-off Riccardo Calafiori Injuries in warm-up. the final result was Declan Rice Acting as a temporary write-back Miles Lewis-Skelley Drafted on the opposite flank.
Man City’s late win nottingham forest Raised the stake in the first day also, but when Georginio Rutter It was supposed to be a comfortable afternoon when Rice headed a corner into his own net in the 52nd minute to put the home side 2-0 up.
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Martin Odegaard opened the scoring first with a 20-yard drive that you would call his trademark, if it weren’t for his first goal since May 25. He finished the first half with 15 shots on goal to Brighton’s zero. And yet, even with a 2-0 lead, peace gave way to chaos. yasin ayari hit the post, diego gomez Converted the rebound and suddenly Brighton had confidence. For at least a few minutes, Arsenal, essentially, froze.
Everyone except the goalkeeper David Rayahe is. Yankuba Minteh Hit a curling shot at ferocious pace, yet Raya bent his body and fired the ball over the crossbar with the fingers of his right hand.
Tension increased. Gabriel Magalhaes He appeared for the first time since 8 November but Arsenal settled only slightly. Option gabriel martinelli Despite a stellar performance, he missed a great opportunity to win the game. bukayo sakaThe cross from seven yards out caused Arteta to spin on his haunches and almost fall to his knees.
He threw the ball into the corner. Five minutes of injury time passed in slow motion. But Arsenal stood firm. The stadium announcer shouted that his team was on top again.
And yet, it shouldn’t be so stressful, right? Arsenal are expending too much emotional energy and we haven’t even reached January.
It was another game decided by a one-goal margin – Wolves, everton And today both sides won in the penalty shoot-out crystal Palace After conceding in stoppage-time – and hence the third consecutive on home ground in which they have suffered an unnecessarily nervy final.
They have now also benefited from four own goals in their last four matches in all competitions. The results suggest stability and reliability in a way that performance does not. That doesn’t mean Arsenal are playing poorly, more that they lack the authority of a team that has been there and done that before.
The scars of three consecutive second-place finishes are visible every week at this point, with work still to exorcize the past ghosts.
Could Arteta be sensing nervousness in the crowd?
“When you concede a goal in the last minute, the game is against you [Crystal] Palace too, when we didn’t really give anything away, and then they scored with the first shot they had, obviously that was it,” he said.
“But then we also have to be able to go through that with mediocrity, show composure and understand that, ‘Okay, if you don’t do that well, you’re not as efficient as your opponent, then you have to be incredibly good at yourself.’ This is also a good way to go through it.
“It’s the will to win. We all want to win so badly, that it’s like, ‘No, I don’t want to lose what I have.’ We have to play to keep the score going and show composure and ability. We should have scored the third goal.”
Is it sustainable to be this emotionally charged on a weekly basis?
“Yes, from my side, yes,” Arteta said. “If you win, I think you win, you learn and you move on again. The impact of winning is incredibly powerful.”
Arsenal have the best squad in the league and if they regain the players they have lost and start clicking in the final third in the way they often threaten, City will face a tough challenge in winning the title.
But keep going like this, and Arsenal face five tough months in search of their first title since 2004. Their increasing injury problems have at least encouraged a sense of togetherness.
Arteta said: “There’s an injury with Jurien, he landed strangely and there was something with Richie too, it was something too, very, very strange but you talk to Declan and tell him he needs to play there as a right back, and he said, ‘Okay, I’m up for a challenge, I’m going to do my best.’ And the attitude of bearing witness is very good.
“At the moment we survived for six months, so let’s see, there are still five and a half months to go, so hopefully things will get better.”
A few more casual matches wouldn’t go amiss. But next up at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday is the team that reminds how Arsenal have been playing with this nice margin for longer than they expected: Aston Villa,
emiliano buendia Scored a 95th-minute winner to give Villa a 2–1 win at the start of the month. It was a game that was in the balance right till the end. And so it continues.
