Arsenal capitalized on Manchester City’s blunder against Nottingham Forest with a 1-0 win over Brighton, moving them seven points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Bukayo Saka’s deflected effort in the ninth minute proved decisive for the Gunners in a tough and tough encounter on the south coast as the title rivals were held to a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
“Only one team tried to play football,” Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler said after the match, accusing Arsenal of time-wasting tactics involving David Raya, who received treatment three times.
“What a surprise,” Mikel Arteta replied.
Saka’s goal, which he swung past Bad Verbruggen after a touch from Carlos Baleva, was one of just two shots on target for Arsenal, who struggled in possession but also excelled defensively.
Brighton dominated much of the match, registering 60 per cent of possession, but Arsenal, led by defenders Gabriel and Piero Hincapie, were unable to break through without the injured William Saliba.
Declan Rice clears the ball in the win against Brighton
Brighton’s best chance came just two minutes later. David Raya sent a straight pass to Baleva, who attempted to chip it but Gabriel cleared it on the line.
The hosts kept Arsenal in their own half for long periods of time, but only had two more shots on target, with Raya making a good save from Georginio Rutter as the home fans grew frustrated with the visitors’ wasting of time.
Arsenal had a chance to get ahead of Brighton when substitute Kai Havertz’s shot from a diagonal was saved by Verbruggen, but their lead was narrow and they had to survive a tense final match.
As the final whistle blew and news broke that Manchester City had drawn with Forest, Arsenal opened up a seven-point lead despite having played more games, prompting wild celebrations from the away fans.
Hürzeler: Only one team tried to play soccer.
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler criticized Arsenal’s approach in a fiery press conference, saying: “We could have created more chances, but overall, as you said, we lost in the end, so we’re all disappointed in terms of the performance.”
“I loved my boys’ efforts and I loved the way they played soccer. I think there was only one team that tried to play soccer today, so I’m proud of the way they played.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler launches attack on Arsenal’s ‘time-wasting’ tactics
“I have one question: Have you ever seen a goalkeeper go down three times in a Premier League game? No? So I don’t think we should waste too many words on that tonight.”
“We should focus on ourselves, we should focus on our performance. We can’t control things like this.
“So I think the Premier League has to find the rules, but that’s not my job. I make my point before the game and I stick to it.”
Arteta: I love the players
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta simply responded to his opponents’ criticism by saying, “What a surprise.”
When asked if he could elaborate on that comment, he replied: “If you go back to previous games, you’ll always find a lot of comments like this.
“I love the players. That’s the highlight. I love the players, we love the players, and we love the way we compete.”
Use Chrome Browser for a more accessible video player
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta responds to Fabian Hürzeler’s comments
Asked if he was concerned about comments from other managers, he said: “Do I care? Yeah, it depends.” Is it up to the manager? “Yes, the comments. And the purpose.
“Obviously, when you’re in our position, they want to take it away from you. That’s normal, that’s the sport.
“We need to normalize it and confront it in the right way.”
Analysis: Legitimate complaint or diversionary tactic?
Hürzeler’s comments will likely determine the outcome of the match. He made a point of addressing the issue of time wasting in his pregame press conference, so it was no surprise to hear him get back to business after a tough night that ended in his team’s loss.
His complaints were justified, at least to some extent. Having taken an early lead, Arsenal were clearly keen to break up the flow of the match, angering not only the home fans but also the manager, who spent the entire night reprimanding the fourth official.
Julian Timber and Ferdi Kadioglu compete for the ball
This was a terrible match. Its stop-start nature certainly suited the visitors better than Brighton. But with Arsenal clearly in poor form, Hürzeler may also focus on his team’s shortcomings. They had more than enough possession to hurt Arsenal but were unable to do so.
According to Opta, their 11 shots amounted to just 0.8 expected goals, and despite their dominance of the ball and territory, Raya had no room to save when Mats Wiefer headed home in the 63rd minute.
Haseler was able to use this game as an opportunity to shape the story. But his complaints will matter little to the Arsenal fans who chanted “we’re going to win the league” at the away end. This ugly victory was a sweet one for them.
Opta stats: Are Arsenal lucky?
Arsenal have won the Premier League for the 10th time this season by a one-goal margin, their most after 30 league games since the 2011/12 season (10). Only the 2003-04 season saw more one-goal wins at this stage of a Premier League season (12). Arsenal had just seven shots against Brighton, and they have had fewer shots in a game against Chelsea this season (five in February’s league match). In fact, tonight’s total xG of 0.43 for the Gunners was clearly the lowest in a match in all competitions in 2025/26. Arsenal completed just 70.9 per cent of their passes against Brighton tonight. It was the lowest success rate in a Premier League match since August 2021 against Manchester City (67.6 per cent).
