Brighton 0-1 Arsenal: Gunners ride Saka's early goal to away win

Bukayo Saka’s early goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday, moving the Gunners closer to a Premier League title.

MORE — Hurzeler rips ‘time-wasting’ Arsenal | Mikel Arteta reaction

It was a controversial win as the Gunners were lustily booed by the Brighton crowd for perceived time wasting and manager Fabian Hurzeler worked the officials all game about the manner.

Hurzeler took a shot at Arteta’s tactics saying, “That was not football” while Arteta did would not be drawn into comments during his post-match comments.

WATCH — Brighton v Arsenal full match replay

The Gunners were without William Saliba and Martin Odegaard and at times were under real pressure but managed to hang on for all three points on a day second-place Man City labored versus Nottingham Forest.

Who cares about ‘boring’ when you finally lift a trophy?

Arsenal weren’t a fun watch on Wednesday at Brighton despite a massive budget and talent advantage over their hosts. Fabian Hurzeler’s comments after the game might not be dripping in class and sportsmanship but they certainly weren’t unfair. The Gunners had just 40% of the ball, were out-attempted 11-7, needed a deflection to score their lone goal. It came a few days after they were out-possessed by 10-man Chelsea and barely got three points. And while it’ll be a pleasing silver lining for anti-Arsenal types to grouse about an unsexy league title, it’ll be a trophy that will only reside in the Emirates Stadium and there will be no asterisk. Arsenal are within one goal of their expected goal total, one of their expected goals against total, and about one point of their expected points total. It’s not Arsenal’s fault that no one else is stepping up to take the trophy home.

What’s next?

Arsenal go to Mansfield Town early Saturday in the fifth round of the FA Cup, then visit Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday for the first leg of a UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg. Their next Premier League match is Saturday, March 14 at home to Everton.

Brighton are off until that same day when they visit Sunderland.

Brighton vs Arsenal final score: 0-1

Bukayo Saka 9'

Full time — Brighton 0-1 Arsenal

There was nothing sexy about it. Arsenal defended with vigor and got a deflected goal.

Not a single Gooner will be upset if it leads to a title.

Halftime — Brighton 0-1 Arsenal

Gunners fortunate to be in front, as Brighton have taken six of the game’s seven shots and have held 58% of the ball.

That’s Brighton’s season, though. They simply have to find consistent finishing from someone besides Danny Welbeck, who did not start this game.

Bukayo Saka goal — Brighton 0-1 Arsenal

Jurrien Timber drives central and lays it off to his right for Bukayo Saka,.

The English winger has a hopeful shot from distance which turns off the elbow of a jumping Baleba and skitters between the legs of Bart Verbruggen for a ninth-minute lead.

David Raya’s huge let-off

The Arsenal keeper passes the ball from his box right to Carlos Baleba.

Will it be 1-0 in the first minute? Almost, but Gabriel Magalhaes helps bail out his keep.

Brighton lineup

Verbruggen, Kadioglu, Van Hecke, Boscagli, Wieffer, Baleba, Gross, Hinshelwood, Gomez, Mitoma, Rutter

Arsenal lineup

Raya, Timber, Mosquera, Magalhaes, Hincapie, Rice, Zubimendi, Eze, Saka, Martinell, Gyokeres

Brighton vs Arsenal preview

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners have rebounded from a pair of surprising away draw to post back-to-back wins over Spurs and Chelsea and are now unbeaten in their last six Premier League games. The Gunners lead second-place Man City by five points but have played one more game than their chasers.

Brighton seek a third-straight win of their own and Fabian Hurzeler would love to see his Seagulls dodge a season sweep by the Gunners to pull further up the table.

It would also put more distance between Brighton and a two-month slump that saw them spin from seventh all the way down to 14th. Now back into 12th place, Brighton cannot avoid many more losses if they are to reclaim status as a potential European qualifier. Seventh place is seven clear of the Seagulls following a midweek draw for Brentford.

Brighton team news, focus

OUT: Adam Webster (knee), Stefanos Tzimas (unspecified) | QUESTIONABLE: Yasin Ayari (shoulder)

Arsenal team news, focus

OUT: Mikel Merino (ankle), Ben White (undisclosed) | QUESTIONABLE: Martin Odegaard (knock), Kai Havertz (thigh), Declan Rice (thigh)

Brighton vs Arsenal prediction

There are questions in Arsenal’s midfield with Declan Rice laboring through the Chelsea game and Martin Odegaard not at 100% but Brighton has also been without Yasin Ayari and may again miss his contributions on Wednesday. The question isn’t whether Brighton can hang with Arsenal but if they can score enough goals to win. Brighton 1-2 Arsenal.

How to watch Brighton vs Arsenal live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 2:30pm ET Wednesday

Venue: Amex Stadium — Brighton and Hove

TV Channel: NBCSN

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