Brighton vs. Arsenal result, highlights & analysis as Saka and Odegaard send Gunners go seven points clear

Joe Wright

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Brighton vs. Arsenal result, highlights & analysis as Saka and Odegaard send Gunners go seven points clear image

Arsenal will start 2023 with a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a thrilling 4-2 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at the AMEX Stadium.

Buoyed by Manchester City's earlier draw with Everton, the Gunners cruised into a 3-0 lead early in the second half and withstood the threat of a Brighton comeback to claim a 14th win in 16 league games this season.

Arsenal seemed in a mood to celebrate the new year on the south coast, Bukayo Saka giving them the lead inside just two minutes. It was the Gunners' earliest away goal in the Premier League since a Theo Walcott strike against QPR back in 2013.

Six minutes before halftime, Martin Odegaard bounced in a shot following a corner to give the visitors a comfortable lead, with Brighton having struggled to pose a persistent threat to Aaron Ramsdale in the visiting goal.

Brighton vs Arsenal final score

  1H 2H Final
Brighton 0 2 2
Arsenal 2 4 4

GOALS:

ARS — Saka — 2nd min

ARS — Odegaard — 39th min

ARS — Nketiah — 47th min

BRI — Mitoma — 65th min

ARS — Martinelli — 70th min

BRI — Ferguson — 77th min

Eddie Nketiah pounced on some loose goalkeeping from Robert Sanchez to make it 3-0 just after the restart, but although the game looked to be over, Kaoru Mitoma converted from just inside the box at the end of a good passing move to give Brighton some hope.

Gabriel Martinelli, who had the beating of Tariq Lamptey throughout the contest, raced onto a stunning first-time pass from Odegaard to finish below Sanchez and restore the two-goal cushion, yet Brighton would not give in.

Teenage substitute Evan Ferguson pounced on some errant defending from Gabriel to poke the ball beneath Ramsdale, and Mitoma struck a deflected shot into the bottom-right corner only for a VAR check to penalise him for a narrow offside.

That disallowed goal seemed to deflate the Brighton players, allowing Arsenal to see out what could be a hugely valuable win in what looks increasingly like a strong challenge for the title.

MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada

Should Arsenal fans start believing?

Arsenal have taken 43 points from their opening 16 games of the Premier League season. Only four other teams in English top-flight history have managed that before in the three-points-per-win era... and they all finished the season as champions.

After Man City dropped points to Everton, this was a significant opportunity for Arteta's men to lay down a marker, but they were facing a Brighton side who had won the previous two meetings, most recently in the League Cup in November. After just 66 seconds, they were ahead. After 47 minutes, they were 3-0 up. Talk about a performance of champions.

Granted, they were far more shaky in the final half-hour than Arteta would have liked, and only Mitoma's rear heel stopped Brighton from making it 4-3 with around seven minutes to play, but make no mistake: this was a statement win from genuine title contenders.

Odegaard swaggers into 2023

Odegaard seemed to slightly mishit the shot that made it 2-0 to Arsenal, and yet, given the way the Gunners captain is playing, you have to assume he probably meant it.

Under Arteta this season, the 24-year-old is truly showing why so many clubs across Europe were desperate to sign him as a teenager. He set up a chance for Martinelli with some stunning quick footwork, crashed in a key goal before halftime, and assisted Martinelli for Arsenal's fourth with a quite sublime first-time pass in behind the Brighton defence.

There are few, if any, Premier League players heading into the new year in better form.

Brighton vs Arsenal live updates, highlights from Premier League

FULLTIME: That's that for 2022 in the Premier League! Arsenal take all three points from a six-goal thriller against Brighton — that's a HUGE win for the Gunners, who start the new year with a seven-point lead at the top!

90 + 4 mins: Gabriel runs a risk by tugging the shirt of Jeremy Sarmiento in the box, but there was nothing doing, really. Arsenal are seeing this one out now.

90 mins: KAORU MITOMA SCORES — but it's disallowed! The winger collected a bouncing ball from Evan Ferguson, drove into the box from the left and fired a deflected strike past Aaron Ramsdale, but a VAR check shows his back foot was offside when he received the ball. That's really unfortunate for Brighton, but Arsenal fans breathe a sight of relief.

88 mins: A few chants of 'off, off, off!' from the home fans as Bukayo Saya (on a yellow) trips Kaoru Mitoma. He's quite rightly not booked, though. Pascal Gross's delivery wasn't the best and Arsenal clear.

85 mins: This has been a fantastic game. Mikel Arteta won't be happy to see the result in jeopardy after the way Arsenal played for the first hour, but the three points will be all that matters at this stage. He's bringing on Rob Holding for Martin Odegaard to make sure of the result.

80 mins: That was a great moment for the Brighton teenager, even if it doesn't end up bringing about a positive result for the Seagulls. Jeremy Sarmiento is trying to keep their hopes alive, but he goes to ground too easily on the edge of the Arsenal box and is penalised for diving.

77 mins: BRIGHTON GET A SECOND! Well, well, well — talk about New Year's Eve entertainment! William Saliba makes a mess of a simple long ball forward and Evan Ferguson, on as a substitute, bustles his way through on goal. Aaron Ramsdale seems to try to dive on the ball and the 18-year-old rolls it beneath him. Perhaps, perhaps, this one isn't over...

70 mins: ARSENAL MAKE IT FOUR! Moments after a promising Brighton attack, Gabriel Martinelli has surely killed the game. A fine pass from Martin Odegaard releases Martinelli who, yet again, has got in behind Tariq Lamptey. He can't quite catch the Arsenal winger, who prods the ball beneath Robert Sanchez. Surely, surely, that means this one is over.

Watch Martinelli's goal (UK):

65 mins: BRIGHTON GET ONE BACK! I must apologise to Kaoru Mitoma, who clearly still believes in the comeback. It's a lovely piece of play from Brighton that ends with Pascal Gross playing in the Japan international, who produced a composed side-foot finish. A VAR check for offside did not come to Arsenal's rescue, either. Game on?

Watch Mitoma's goal (UK):

Watch Mitoma's goal (USA):

60 mins: A few changes being made now for either side. You get the feeling everyone in the stadium thinks this is over, with the possible exception of Pervis Estupinan, who is still bombing down the Brighton left at every opportunity.

53 mins: Bukayo Saka is booked for bringing down Pervis Estupinan as he drove into the Arsenal half. He's one away from a suspension now. Brighton are pushing for a way back into this but, to be honest, they don't look like they believe it's possible.

47 mins: IT'S 3-0 TO ARSENAL! Sorry, Brighton fans, but I think I jinxed that. Gabriel Martinelli gets yet another clear run into the box, Robert Sanchez can't hold his shot, and Eddie Nketiah pokes the ball home from practically on the goal line. Stick a fork in this one — it's done.

46 mins: Brighton are one of just three teams to beat Arsenal this season across all competitions — can they produce a sensational comeback? Let's find out...

HALFTIME: Well, that was about as good as Arsenal would have hoped for. Bukayo Saka struck so early it seemed to shock Brighton out of their previous positive form, and Martin Odegaard has made the lead comfortable. It looks like being 14 wins from 16 for the Gunners.

45 + 2 mins: You wait all evening for a yellow card, and three come along at once! Thomas Partey now gets one of his own for a late tackle on Adam Lallana. The managers are now getting a quick talking-to from Anthony Taylor, which I'm surprised we couldn't actually hear given how quiet the crowd has become.

45 mins: Billy Gilmour goes into the book for a late scything-down of Thomas Partey. Arsenal weren't happy about that, but a booking certainly seemed fair. Moments later, Gabriel gets a yellow card, apparently for time-wasting. Someone tell him it's a little bit early for that.

39 mins: ARSENAL MAKE IT 2-0! Billy Gilmour clears Bukayo Saka's corner but only as far as Martin Odegaard just inside the area. The Arsenal captain seemed to mishit his first-time shot, but it bounced off the turf, through the crowded box and high into the net. The Gunners are cruising!

Watch Odegaard score (UK):

Watch Odegaard score (USA):

37 mins: Aaron Ramsdale might have a problem. The Arsenal keeper looked to be holding his hamstring there and was trying to get Mikel Arteta's attention. It looks like he will carry on for now, with halftime less than 10 minutes away.

33 mins: Some real dogged determination from Ben White to stop Pervis Estupinan from crossing from the left. Brighton are a good match for Arsenal here — they just can't seem to pick their way through in the final third.

29 mins: Tariq Lamptey draws some cheers from the home fans after winning a duel against Gabriel Martinelli. He then produced a good block as the Brazilian looked ready to unleash a strike just inside the box. Brighton still can't quite threaten Aaron Ramsdale's goal consistently.

23 mins: Another chance for Bukayo Saka! Arsenal win it back in the Brighton half and the goalscorer is played through in acres of space down the right, but Lewis Dunk gets across to block his cut-back. Thomas Partey's effort is then deflected over the bar following the corner. And that all happened because Saka was not flagged offside, when it looked fairly clear that he was...

21 mins: Gabriel Martinelli is getting far too much of the ball in the Brighton box for the home fans' liking. He starts another move, combining quite brilliantly with Martin Odegaard, but the hosts scramble the ball clear.

15 mins: The game has rather settled down after that frantic start. Brighton have had a few successive corners but Arsenal held them off (despite some less-than-convincing goalkeeping from Aaron Ramsdale).

7 mins: Martin Odegaard has carved open the Brighton defence a couple of times since the goal, and Gabriel Martinelli has had another shot blocked. Brighton are just trying to steady themselves here.

2 mins: ARSENAL TAKE THE LEAD! The Gunners must have New Year's Eve plans as they're wasting no time in getting this done! Gabriel Martinelli gets the ball in the box and his effort finds its way to the feet of Bukayo Saka, who has time and space to side-foot beyond Robert Sanchez.

Watch Saka goal (UK):

Watch Saka goal (USA):

 

5 mins before KO: The AMEX Stadium provides its tribute to the great Pele, just as every other Premier League ground has done in recent days.

30 mins before KO: What a boost for Arsenal before the game: Manchester City could only draw 1-1 at home to Everton, meaning the Gunners will enter 2023 with a seven-point lead at the top if they can win here.

1 hr before KO: The team news is in! Just one change for Arsenal, with Oleksandr Zinchenko coming in for Kieran Tierney.

Brighton have made two alterations from the team that won at Southampton: the suspended Moises Caicedo is replaced by Billy Gilmour, while Tariq Lamptey is in at right-back for Joel Veltman.

1 hr 15 before KO: Brighton have proved to be tricky opposition for Arsenal. They've only lost two of the past 10 meetings with Arteta's side and have won each of the previous two, in the league in April and the League Cup just last month. The Seagulls are bidding to record three consecutive wins over Arsenal for the first time.

1 hr 30 before KO: The Gunners are bidding to finish the year on another positive note. They will go into 2023 as league leaders regardless of results elsewhere today, but a victory over a Brighton side who continue to impress under Roberto De Zerbi would be another statement of intent from Mikel Arteta's men.

2 hrs before KO: Welcome to the final match of 2022 for Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal. Can the Gunners keep up their increasingly impressive title charge?

Brighton vs Arsenal lineups

De Zerbi faced a midfield conundrum ahead of this clash with Moises Caicedo suspended and Jakub Moder injured for the home side. Billy Gilmour was given the nod alongside Pascal Gross.

Alexis MacAllister is still not available following Argentina's World Cup celebrations, but Tariq Lamptey was handed a start at right-back.

Brighton XI (4-2-3-1): Sanchez (GK) — Lamptey, Dunk, Colwill, Estupinan — Gross, Gilmour — March, Lallana, Mitoma — Trossard

Brighton subs: Steele, Sarmiento, Enciso, Ferguson, Van Hecke, Veltman, Turns, Moran, Hinshelwood

Arteta's injury picture is unchanged ahead of this game with Eddie Nketiah continuing up front in the absence of the injured Gabriel Jesus.

Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith Rowe are back in training but not match fit, so Arsenal made just one change from the win over West Ham, Oleksandr Zinchenko coming in for Kieran Tierney.

Arsenal XI (4-2-3-1): Ramsdale (GK) — White, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko — Xhaka, Partey, Odegaard — Saka, Nketiah, Martinelli

Arsenal subs: Turner, Tierney, Tomiyasu, Cedric, Holding, Elneny, Lokonga, Vieira, Marquinhos

What time is Brighton vs. Arsenal kick off?

This Premier League clash will kick off at the AMEX Stadium on Saturday, December 31 at 5:30 p.m local time.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:

  Kickoff time
USA 12:30 ET
Canada 12:30 ET
UK 17:30 GMT
Australia 04:30 AEDT*
India 23:00 IST
Hong Kong 01:30 HKT*
Malaysia 01:30 MYT*
Singapore 01:30 SGT*
New Zealand 06:30 NZDT*

*Game starts on January 1 in these time zones

Brighton vs. Arsenal live stream, TV channel

Here's how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:

  TV channel Streaming
USA NBC, Universo fuboTV, Peacock, Universo Now, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo
Canada — fuboTV
UK Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Main Event Sky GO
Australia Optus Sport  Optus Sport
New Zealand Sky Sport Premier League Sky Sport GO
India Star Sports Select 1 Hotstar VIP, JioTV
Hong Kong — now TV
Malaysia Astro SuperSport 3 Astro GO, sooka
Singapore 221 Hub Premier 1, 222 Hub Premier 2 StarHub TV+

UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with selected matches on Amazon Prime. This match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

USA: The match will be televised on Universo (Spanish-language) which can be streamed on fuboTV. The English-language stream can be seen on NBC's Peacock platform.

Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.

Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport. 

India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).

MORE: English Premier League table 2022/23: Updated EPL standings

Brighton vs. Arsenal betting odds

  USA
(Caesars)		 UK 
(SkyBet)		 Australia
(Neds)		 Canada
(Sports Interaction)
Brighton win +240 12/5 3.40 3.49
Draw +250 5/2 3.40 3.51
Arsenal win +108 11/10 2.10 1.96
Over/Under 2.5 goals -125 /-105 7/11 - 1/1 1.85 - 1.94 1.81 - 1.93
Both teams to score Y/N -140/+110 8/11 - 5/4 1.67 - 2.10 1.63 - 2.01

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.