Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard’s first club goal of the season helped his side beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 at home on Saturday to return to the top of the Premier League table.
For the second week running, Arsenal kicked off having been displaced by Manchester City earlier in the day and it responded once again to the challenge.
Odegaard’s season has been disrupted by a knee injury but he showed his trademark precision in the 14th minute to drive a left-footed shot low past Brighton keeper Bart Verbruggen.
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Arsenal was totally dominant and doubled its lead with a Georginio Rutter own goal in the 52nd minute.
Brighton had offered next to nothing as an attacking force until Diego Gomez slammed in a rebound in the 64th minute after Yasin Ayari’s shot came back off the post.
The visitor came on strong late on and would have equalised had Arsenal keeper David Raya not produced a stunning save to keep out Yankuba Minteh’s curling effort.
It was a nervy finish, but Arsenal held on to move to 42 points from 18 games with City, who beat Nottingham Forest earlier on Saturday, on 40.
Published on Dec 27, 2025
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