Brighton 1 1 Arsenal Match Report

We saw our three-game winning run in the Premier League halted as we were forced to settle for a point at Brighton.

In a game of few chances, Ethan Nwaneri handed us at half-time lead with a well-taken goal but we were pegged back on the hour mark when Joao Pedro converted a hotly-disputed penalty.

The draw means our unbeaten league run stretches to 10 matches, but we were left frustrated at missing the chance to cut the gap to league leaders Liverpool by the maximum amount.

Nwaneri makes more history

The game kicked off with temperatures just above freezing, and the opening 45 minutes didn’t really catch fire as both teams struggled to create too many opportunities of note.

There was an early warning sign when Gabriel Jesus was sent through on goal early on by Jorginho but couldn’t beat Bart Verbruggen in the Seagulls net nor the offside trap, but on 16 minutes Nwaneri provided another glimpse of his undoubted talent to warm the spirits of the travelling Gooners by handing us the lead.

Mikel Merino found himself some space in midfield and found Declan Rice on the right flank when the 17-year-old started his run. Having received the ball back, Merino fed it into Nwaneri who was given too much freedom to advance into the area and slip a shot under Verbruggen.

That moved him to five goals from five starts already this campaign, but also saw him become the first player to score more than one Premier League goal for us before turning 18.

With an advantage in our pocket, we controlled the majority of the opening period but chances remained at a premium. Jesus nearly continued his hot streak in front of goal but he couldn’t quite keep his header down from a Rice corner, while at the other end David Raya was left untroubled by Brighton’s attempts, although Simon Adingra should have done better than shanking well wide after being picked out in a good position by Matt O’Reilly.

Penalty pain

The second half saw Arteta shuffle his pack and bring on Gabriel Martinelli for his 200th Gunners appearance in place of goalscorer Nwaneri, but after another slow start to proceedings, just before the hour mark came a major flashpoint when the hosts were awarded a contentious spot-kick.

As the ball bounced around the box, Joao Pedro flicked it up and William Saliba went to challenge him in the air and accidentally clashed heads. After a pause, Anthony Taylor added to his league-high nine penalty awards this term, allowing the Seagulls captain to dust himself off and send Raya the wrong way from 12 yards.

Having not seen their team win in the seven matches prior to this, that gave the home crowd something to shout about and they began urging their team on while they enjoyed the momentum, and Kaoru Mitoma was a stud’s length away from sending Yankuba Minteh’s cross-shot into the net before Yasin Ayari curled a free-kick wide of the post.

Having been struggling with illness before the game, Martin Odegaard was introduced from the bench following the equaliser but we struggled to carve out any real sights of goal until late in the second half.

Thomas Partey headed over a Rice free-kick a few minutes from the end of normal time before Leandro Trossard blazed the last chance of the night high over the crossbar in added-on time to see us depart Sussex with a solitary point.

FACTS AND STATS

Despite coming from behind to earn a draw, Brighton remain winless in their last eight Premier League games (D6 L2), drawing four successive matches in the competition for the first time.

Ethan Nwaneri (2 goals) became just the sixth player to score more than one Premier League goal before turning 18 years old after Wayne Rooney (7), Michael Owen (5), Danny Cadamarteri (3), James Milner (3) and Federico Macheda (2).

We have failed to win four of our last nine Premier League games when leading at half-time (W5 D4), having won 22 consecutive such matches prior to this run.

Joao Pedro has been involved in 10 goals across his last 13 Premier League appearances (5 goals, 5 assists), netting home and away against us this season.

Since the start of last season, only Mohamed Salah and Cole Palmer (12 each) have scored more goals from the penalty spot among Premier League players in all competitions than Joao Pedro (11 – level with Erling Haaland).

Gabriel Martinelli became just the sixth non-European player to reach 200 appearances (all competitions) for us after Kolo Toure (326), Gilberto Silva (244), Lauren (241), Emmanuel Eboue (214) and Alex Song (204).

What's next

We turn our attentions to the cup competitions next week, with a League Cup semi-final first leg against Newcastle United at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, followed by our FA Cup third-round tie with Manchester United in N5 the following Sunday. Then there's the small matter of a north London derby when we return to league action on Wednesday, January 15.