Arsenal held off a Brighton fightback to return to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory at the Emirates Stadium.
Manchester City's earlier win over Nottingham Forest meant the Gunners needed to win to go back above them but they were made to work for the points despite dominating most of the encounter.
Martin Odegaard opened the scoring with a low shot from outside the box in the 14th minute for his first goal of the season but Arsenal needed their fourth own goal in as many games, from Georginio Rutter, to double their lead after spurning numerous chances.
Their wastefulness was nearly punished after Diego Gomez buried a rebound midway through the second half, with goalkeeper David Raya then required to make a sensational full-stretch save to deny Brighton substitute Yankubah Minteh an equaliser.
Arsenal continued to create openings, but substitute Gabriel Martinelli spurned the best of them when he fired over from Saka's cross. Viktor Gyokeres, meanwhile, endured another frustrating afternoon, spurning a one-on-one chance in the second minute.
Arsenal's preparations were once again disrupted by injuries, with Jurrien Timber's absence meaning Declan Rice had to fill in at right-back and Riccardo Calafiori having to be replaced by Myles Lewis-Skelly due to picking up an issue in the warm-up.
Despite that upheaval, they didn't allow Brighton a single shot in the first half, although a lack of cutting edge left the game open, with Brighton's goal causing nervousness among the home fans as Mikel Arteta turned to the returning Gabriel Magalhaes from the bench to help them see out the game.
The victory was harder work than it should have been, based on the number of chances Arsenal created, but it ensures they reopen their two-point lead at the Premier League summit, with Brighton slipping to 12th, now winless in five games.
Story of the match in stats...
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