In recent weeks the Emirates Stadium has become one of the most anxious arenas in European football. Mikel Arteta’s team are top of the Premier League and Champions League tables, and into the final four of the League Cup, but it currently feels like every home match is a source of maximum stress for Arsenal’s supporters and players.
Why has everything become so tense? That is a question Arteta will be asking himself and his coaching staff over the coming days, after their narrow victory over Brighton became just the latest angst-ridden occasion in north London.
It is a curious case of a team that keeps winning but also keeps coming perilously close to surrendering victory in the final stages of matches. Against Wolves earlier this month, Arsenal conceded a late goal and then needed a stoppage-time winner. Against Crystal Palace in the League Cup, they conceded a late goal and then needed penalties.
And here against Brighton they were cruising towards a seemingly straightforward win, with Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka sparkling in attack, before a sudden Brighton goal put everything on edge. In the end they only maintained their grip on the three points because David Raya, their consistently brilliant goalkeeper, produced the most fabulous save to deny Yankuba Minteh an equaliser.
Perhaps the best news for Arsenal – aside from keeping their place at the top of the table – was the return to form of Odegaard. The Arsenal captain struck his first goal of an injury-plagued season to set his team on the path to victory, and also produced a superb individual midfield performance.
Arsenal’s second goal was an own goal, scored by Georginio Rutter and forced by Declan Rice’s corner. Remarkably, it was the fourth own goal that Arsenal have generated this month. Even more remarkably, Rice was playing at right-back because of Arsenal’s injury issues. To the shock of no one at Arsenal, he performed exceptionally well in that unfamiliar position.
For Brighton, who conceded 15 shots in the first half and took zero, their second-half showing was a reminder of the problems they can cause any opponent when they are bold and aggressive on the ball. Diego Gómez scored their goal on the rebound, after Yasin Ayari had struck the post. If it had not been for Raya, they would have snatched a point.