**Arsenal**extended their lead at the top of the Premier League table to seven points after a 1-0 victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Bukayo Saka’s early strike was enough to seal the win for the Gunners, who ground out the three points thanks to a solid defensive performance.
Elsewhere, Manchester City were held to a draw by relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. Such a result has meant the title race is now fully in Arsenal’s hands.
In a game of few chances, what did we learn?
Arsenal remain unaffected by outside noise
Before the match, Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler made a plea to the Premier League and its refereeing governing body, the PGMOL. According to the German, Arsenal were taking too long on set pieces and goal kicks, among other things.
Hurzeler then further criticised the Gunners post-defeat.
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He said, “There was only one team that tried to play football today.
“I will never be that kind of manager who tries to win in that way.”
This comes after Arsenal defended their lead for much of the rest of the game. The likes of David Raya took his time from goal kicks, while Piero Hincapie was more than happy to run the clock down from throw-ins.
The win-at-all-costs approach is nothing new to football, however. Jose Mourinho has long employed such tactics. Sir Alex Ferguson also. When Mikel Arteta do the same, the Premier League falls into disrepute.
If the Gunners do get over the line in May, few will criticise the methods in which they claimed their first Premier League title in over two decades.
At the start of this campaign, Riccardo Calafiori was considered undroppable by many Arsenal fans. Myles Lewis-Skelly couldn’t get a look in. Hincapie had suffered a few minor injuries, impacting the start of his Gunners career.
However, since the beginning of December, the Ecuadorian has featured in nearly all of Arsenal’s matches, becoming a staple on the left-hand side of the defence.
Against Brighton, Hincapie marshalled the dangerous Georginio Rutter well, while Diego Gomez rarely impacted the game for the Seagulls.
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The defender was able to get in between his opponent and the ball on multiple occasions while also making a series of crucial tackles and blocks.
Offensively, Hincapie is not the type to score goals or even create them. But his composure on the ball and ability to pick the right pass may give him the edge on Calafiori, who is more prone to galloping down the wing.
Both provide great competition for each other and can even play in the same side. With Cristhian Mosquera withdrawn after narrowly avoiding a second booking, the Italian defender filled his left back role while Hincapie played to the right of Gabriel Magalhaes.
The first piece of summer business that Arsenal do will likely be triggering the 23-year-old’s obligation to buy.
The Gunners still lack fluidity in attack
While the three points were by far the most important thing to leave the South coast, one issue that still plagues the Gunners is their lack of attacking threat.
This could be due to Arsenal deciding to shut up shop, rather than leaving themselves vulnerable to conceding.
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Gabriel Martinelli and Viktor Gyokeres played little part in the victory, while Eberechi Eze had little chance to create any chances for the former.
However, when Kai Havertz entered the pitch, Arteta’s side looked better on the ball. In fact, the German attacker arguably should have finished off the game, but a poor touch meant Bart Verbruggen had a much easier time denying Havertz his goal.
Arsenal will now play two matches before their next league fixture against Everton.
A trip to Mansfield in the FA Cup will be followed by a flight to Germany, where the Gunners will look to continue their unbeaten UEFA Champions League campaign.
This could benefit the Gunners as two games in two other competitions may help to clear the mind in what has been a mentally demanding Premier League run.
However, Arteta must make sure his side is ready to face the Toffees a week on Saturday as victory will extend their lead at the top to ten points with City not playing until later that evening.