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Come the end of the season people may look back on March 4th as the day Arsenal won the Premier League.
That’s a hell of a claim, isn’t it? However, supporters are now finally daring to dream of that elusive title coming back to north London.
The Gunners have not won the league since the Invincibles back in 2003/04 but the way in which the results swung this week suggests that fans may not need to wait much longer.
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Arsenal have felt enormous pressure in recent weeks and after that 2-2 draw with Wolves, a game they led 2-0, it looked as though it may not be their year.
Yet, things change quickly in football. Arsenal have won three games on the trot, most recently beating Brighton 1-0 at the Amex. Elsewhere, Manchester City drew 2-2 with Nottingham Forest. It was a perfect night for Mikel Arteta and Co.
That said, improvements are required. The display against Brighton, particularly in the final third, was not good enough.
Where Arsenal need to improve after Brighton
With just nine minutes on the clock, Bukayo Saka opened the scoring and netted what would turn out to be the winning goal.
Cutting in from the right as he so often does, the winger struck an effort goalbound that wasn’t fierce but somehow squirmed through Seagulls goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen via a slight deflection.
That was as good as it got in all honesty. The final third, Saka aside, failed to ever really fire.
Arsenal were phenomenal at the back. Gabriel won the man of the match award after 17 defensive contributions. Piero Hincapie was also excellent, winning 16. Yet, at the opposite end of the pitch, it was a rather sorry sight.
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Besides that 4-1 win over Spurs, that has felt like a common theme throughout 2026.
One of the chief culprits was undoubtedly Gabriel Martinelli, who, despite being on course for his best goalscoring season since netting 15 in 2022/23, has been seriously underwhelming in the Premier League since the turn of the year.
Martinelli-Arsenal-Brighton
While the Brazilian has netted five times in cup competitions this calendar year, he continues to falter in the league, and his performance on Wednesday was a damning one.
Starting on the left ahead of former Brighton man Leandro Trossard, Martinelli completed just three passes during his time on the field. Furthermore, he failed to complete a dribble, a key pass or a cross and had only one shot.
Arsenal player ratings vs Brighton
Eberechi Eze wasn’t much better behind him with the summer signing so far failing to kick on after those two goals against Spurs. Like Martinelli, he was devoid of any creativity, not completing a key pass or cross.
On that evidence, is it any wonder their star striker put in such a mediocre display?
Summer signing let Arteta down vs Brighton
This was a fantastic night for the club as they went seven points clear, but Arteta has a number of changes he must now make to his starting XI.
For much of the second half, Arsenal spent it camped in their own half and it wasn’t until Kai Havertz came on that the pressure was relieved.
The German acted as a sponge anytime the Gunners came forward and while it was not his best cameo, his ability to hold the ball up and retain possession got Arteta’s men out of a tight spot.
As a result, the former Chelsea man simply has to start at the weekend against Mansfield but more importantly, he needs to play against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League next week.
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The fact of the matter is that like Eze, Viktor Gyokeres has failed to build on the momentum of what was his finest performance for Arsenal against Spurs.
The Swede scored twice in that clash but has not found the net since. Truthfully, his display against Brighton on Wednesday was one of his worst yet.
FFC Worst signings
While the ball stuck to Havertz like glue, Gyokeres was particularly clumsy and failed to hold the ball up with any sort of regularity. In fact, it felt like whenever the Gunners striker got hold of the ball, it resulted in a turnover and Brighton were able to come forward.
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Gyokeres vs Brighton
Minutes played
Touches
Accurate passes
Key passes
Crosses
Successful dribbles
Possession lost
Shots
Ground duels won
Aerial duels won
Fouls
Hauled off on 59 minutes, the summer arrival trotted to the bench having had just 20 touches. For context, David Raya managed 56. He also only completed 46% of his passes and lost the ball 13 times. Remarkably, only seven of his touches were actually successful. It was a nightmare night for the centre forward.
To add insult to injury, Gyokeres failed to win a single duel and didn’t have a shot. From his best performance in an Arsenal shirt two weeks ago to this, it’s a huge worry for Arteta during the run-in.
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It’s evidence that they must do everything in their power to keep Havertz fit. The technical floor of the entire squad was raised when he came on and providing he’s free of any lingering injury niggles, he must be the man to carry Arsenal to glory in the final third.
Over the last two years, they have always looked like a better team when Havertz is leading the line. Despite the arrival of a shiny new toy last summer, that fact very much remains true.
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