Brighton 2-4 Arsenal: Instant Reaction
On a day that rivals dropped points, Arsenal took advantage to open a gap.
Coming back from the World Cup break that disrupts the season is obviously difficult, getting thrown back into the low rest situation of the Premier League’s festive fixtures only makes things harder. Any points picked up this period are a gift and doing so against what is the 8th best team in the Premier League and a bogey team at that makes it that much sweeter.
Arsenal have opened a 7-point gap at the top of the table, the betting odds have shortened to 2.3 as I am writing this (that is an implied odds of winning the title of 43%). Things are looking great for Arsenal right now.
Headline: Blitz and Add On
That opening 10 minutes or so of the match was a masterclass in blitzing an opponent. I loved every second of it.
I had barely settled into me seat with my Bloody Mary when Arsenal had scored. From there Arsenal kept applying pressure, producing enough where a second goal wouldn’t have been crazy to have been conjured.
In the opening 10 minutes: Shots 5 to 0, Touches within 25 yards of goal 9 to 0, Final third pass attempts, 15 to 0, defensive third pass attempts 13 to 31.
That was a blitz, with Brighton pinned into their own half, forcing long balls and relentlessly pressing. The field tilt was 94% for Arsenal with 21 final third touches to 1, with 3 high ball recoveries and an average possession starting distance of just 55 yards from the goal. You can’t draw up a start better than that.
After the opening salvo, things evened out some with Brighton ending the final 35 minutes with more of the ball but Arsenal still looking to be the more dangerous team. Arsenal ended up with a second goal from a corner but what made me especially happy was seeing the team come out in the second half with the same verve to score adding a third.
We had (or at least I did) just seen Manchester City do something similar in the first half to Everton but they went passive, not committing men forward until the final 15 minutes and they ended up getting footballed with their first shot allowed turning into an equalizer.
When you don’t add on that is always a chance that can happen. In this one, yeah it got a little nervy but really Arsenal’s ability to add the second and third (plus the fourth to restore the three-goal lead) really made it very unlikely that they would leave without all three points.
A great day for Arsenal and one that guarantees that they will be at top of the table for even longer now.
Stock Rising: Eddie Nketiah
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