Move On Up Back To The Top

Captain, Own Goal, Raya. Top of the league.

Martin Ødegaard waited patiently. Fourteen minutes, in fact. And then — bang.

Low. Hard. From range. Skipper's first of the season. Message sent. 1-0

The final result: Arsenal 2, Brighton 1. Back where we belong.

This wasn't pretty-pretty football for Instagram reels. This was control, pressure, suffocation — and just enough late drama to remind us why no title race is ever straightforward.

CAPTAIN'S CONTRIBUTION

We nearly struck inside two minutes. Leandro Trossard clipped one over the top, Viktor Gyökeres bullied Lewis Dunk (welcome back) and… side-footed straight at Verbruggen. It set the tone. Brighton were already hanging on.

Bukayo Saka then turned Maxim De Cuyper inside out, forcing another save, and the warning signs were flashing bright blue and white.

The breakthrough felt inevitable. Saka again, space again, Ødegaard on the edge again. The Norwegian didn't overthink it — he drilled it low and true, past Verbruggen, and into the corner. Captain's goal. Captain's moment. His first since that thunderbolt against Southampton at the tail end of last season.

It was 1–0, but it felt bigger.

CHANCES, CHANCES, MORE CHANCES

Brighton simply couldn't live with balls over the top. Saka was everywhere. Gyökeres was bullying centre-halves. Odegaard was pulling strings.

Jan Paul van Hecke hooked one away from under our noses. Dunk blocked Saka. A low cross zipped past everyone. Then came chaos in the box — Merino shot, Zubimendi flicked, Verbruggen somehow clawed it away again.

By half-time:

15 shots.

One goal.

And absolute dominance.

SET-PIECE AGAIN (OF COURSE)

Brighton tried to change the narrative with early second-half substitutions, but it barely registered.

Then came the corner. Declan Rice whipped it in, Georginio Rutter got there first… and flicked it neatly into his own net. Arsenal 2–0. Familiar. Ruthless. Set-piece excellence doing what it does best.

We pushed for a third. Gyökeres blasted at the keeper. Saka forced another deflection. It felt like game over.

Football, of course, had other ideas.

BRIGHTON'S LIFELINE — AND RAYA'S ANSWER

Out of nowhere, Brighton had their say. Minteh to Rutter, Rutter to Ayari, post — and Diego Gómez arrived to smash it into the top corner. 2–1. Suddenly, nerves.

Brighton sensed it. Blocks flew in. Hinshelwood tried his luck. Ayari hovered. Gabriel Magalhães returned to steady things up, Danny Welbeck appeared for a nostalgic subplot… and then came the moment.

Minteh curled one toward the top corner. Raya flew. Fingertips. Save. Arsenal's 150-game man producing a title-race save when it mattered most.

We nearly killed it late on. Saka slipped in Martinelli. Too high. Game management mode engaged.

Whistle. Relief. Three points.

THE VERDICT

This wasn't flawless, but it was authoritative.

Ødegaard back on the scoresheet.

Set-pieces still lethal.

Raya proving — again — why he's indispensable.

Top of the league. No apologies.

WHAT'S NEXT

No time to admire the view.

Aston Villa at the Emirates on Tuesday, December 30.

Then 2026 begins with a trip to Bournemouth on Saturday, January 3rd (5.30pm GMT).

Strap in. This one's going the distance.