🔗 Share this article Arsenal Enter 'Survival' Gear as Stunning Goalkeeper Stop Secures Top Spot Martin Odegaard netted the back of the net of the campaign to guide his team to a victory over Brighton and regain top spot at the summit of the Premier League. However, the standout action of the contest belonged to their shot-stopper. Holding on to a narrow 2-1 lead in the final stages at a nervy Emirates Stadium, a brilliant curling strike from the visitors' substitute Yankuba Minteh from the perimeter of the area seemed destined for the uppermost part of the net. Enter David Raya. The Spain international somehow pulled off an incredible act of athleticism to deflect the ball over the crossbar and prevent the Seagulls from drawing level from two goals down. "It was incredible," stated Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. "From my a great angle on it. These are what we require from players, we must have those performances in the crucial moments." Former England skipper Alan Shearer, serving as a analyst, labeled the save as "one of the best you'll see this term". "You saw all the Gunners players rush straight to Raya to thank him for it because it was a big save at such an critical stage of the fixture," noted another commentator. Commanding Display Almost Undone Arsenal had dominated large parts of the game, registering 15 shots and limiting their opponents to zero during the opening half. Arteta commented that the "margin should have been much bigger" and that "it never have been 2-1" given the volume of chances his team created. "That ended up to be a lot more complicated for them than it ought to have been," concurred Shearer. "The Gunners found great joy against both the opposition full-backs in the first half... But Brighton changed things at the interval. As soon as they scored their goal, the home side were suddenly under pressure from nowhere." Squad 'Enduring' Injury Crisis The triumph over the Seagulls felt like a match experienced multiple times already this campaign. The team controlled proceedings, wasted clear-cut opportunities, and had to deal with injuries to important personnel. For this fixture, Arsenal were missing the sidelined Jurrien Timber and lost Riccardo Calafiori in the pre-match preparations, meaning left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly to join the starting line-up at short notice. On a positive note, some welcome developments, with defender Gabriel making a comeback as a late replacement following his injury lay-off. Arteta stated his side have been "surviving" the challenges facing them for six months and that the setbacks are "uniting" the squad. "Currently we have endured half the season, so let's see, there's another five and a half to go, so hopefully things will improve," he remarked. "The good news as well, we've welcomed back Gabi [Gabriel] earlier than anticipated, which is excellent." This is the second matchday where Manchester City have played before the Gunners and gone top of the league, with Arsenal having to answer back. Nevertheless, Arteta says his team are relishing the task they face as they try to win the title for the first time since 2004. "We can only influence what we do. We're doing a lot of good things that I think we must build on as well," he said, noting that playing "every three days is going to be a challenge and we are up for it".
Martin Odegaard netted the back of the net of the campaign to guide his team to a victory over Brighton and regain top spot at the summit of the Premier League. However, the standout action of the contest belonged to their shot-stopper. Holding on to a narrow 2-1 lead in the final stages at a nervy Emirates Stadium, a brilliant curling strike from the visitors' substitute Yankuba Minteh from the perimeter of the area seemed destined for the uppermost part of the net. Enter David Raya. The Spain international somehow pulled off an incredible act of athleticism to deflect the ball over the crossbar and prevent the Seagulls from drawing level from two goals down. "It was incredible," stated Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. "From my a great angle on it. These are what we require from players, we must have those performances in the crucial moments." Former England skipper Alan Shearer, serving as a analyst, labeled the save as "one of the best you'll see this term". "You saw all the Gunners players rush straight to Raya to thank him for it because it was a big save at such an critical stage of the fixture," noted another commentator. Commanding Display Almost Undone Arsenal had dominated large parts of the game, registering 15 shots and limiting their opponents to zero during the opening half. Arteta commented that the "margin should have been much bigger" and that "it never have been 2-1" given the volume of chances his team created. "That ended up to be a lot more complicated for them than it ought to have been," concurred Shearer. "The Gunners found great joy against both the opposition full-backs in the first half... But Brighton changed things at the interval. As soon as they scored their goal, the home side were suddenly under pressure from nowhere." Squad 'Enduring' Injury Crisis The triumph over the Seagulls felt like a match experienced multiple times already this campaign. The team controlled proceedings, wasted clear-cut opportunities, and had to deal with injuries to important personnel. For this fixture, Arsenal were missing the sidelined Jurrien Timber and lost Riccardo Calafiori in the pre-match preparations, meaning left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly to join the starting line-up at short notice. On a positive note, some welcome developments, with defender Gabriel making a comeback as a late replacement following his injury lay-off. Arteta stated his side have been "surviving" the challenges facing them for six months and that the setbacks are "uniting" the squad. "Currently we have endured half the season, so let's see, there's another five and a half to go, so hopefully things will improve," he remarked. "The good news as well, we've welcomed back Gabi [Gabriel] earlier than anticipated, which is excellent." This is the second matchday where Manchester City have played before the Gunners and gone top of the league, with Arsenal having to answer back. Nevertheless, Arteta says his team are relishing the task they face as they try to win the title for the first time since 2004. "We can only influence what we do. We're doing a lot of good things that I think we must build on as well," he said, noting that playing "every three days is going to be a challenge and we are up for it".